Nigerian Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday refused to nullify Regulation 127 of the Nigeria Police Force, which forbids unmarried police officers from getting pregnant.

The Regulation provides that “an unmarried woman police officer, who becomes pregnant, shall be discharged from the Force and shall not be re-enlisted except with the approval of the Inspector General of Police”.

The decision of the Court was sequel to an action filed by Nigerian Bar Association querying the legality of the provision which, it argued, was not only in conflict with the 1999 constitution (as amended), but also amounted to discrimination against an unmarried female police officer.

Citing the case of Omolola Olajide, a female police officer that was sacked in Ekiti State on January 26, 2021, for being pregnant while unmarried, the NBA maintained that such discriminatory Regulation has also rendered many female officers childless for fear of being sacked.