The Ekiti State Police Command, yesterday, justified the dismissal of a Police Constable, Miss Olajide Omolola.
It said the police authority had to wield the big stick when it discovered that the unmarried constable got pregnant in alleged flagrant violation of the Police Rules and Regulation.
Omolola, who was attached to the Iye Ekiti Police Station in Ilejemeje area of Ekiti State, was dismissed last week by police authority, for getting pregnant barely a year after graduating from the police academy.
He defended the police decision to dismiss an unmarried policewoman, for getting pregnant out of wedlock less than a year after she joined the force.
Omolola, a corporal, was dismissed from the force last week for breaching Section 127 of the Police Act and Regulation which forbids a woman police from getting pregnant before marriage in the Force.
Section 127 of the Act reads, “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.”
Speaking with newsmen in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, the Police Commissioner, Ekiti Command, Mr Babatunde Mobayo, said Omolola violated Section 127 of the Police Regulation, which carries serious punitive measures against flouters.
Mobayo stated that the rule and regulation unambiguously stated that woman police must undergo post-training experience on the field for, at least, two years before marriage and three years before childbearing.
In his words, “In police organisation, we have rules and regulations, which are being carried out within the ambit of the constitution. The police officers are not even allowed to keep their children that are above 18 years of age in the barracks. Some of these laws were taught in the police colleges before we graduated.
“These laws have been there. Some stipulated the number of years you must spend before you get married. If you are in police college, you are not supposed to get pregnant.
“When you passed out, you still need basic training and for your attention not to be distracted, you must spend a certain minimum of a period before you get married for you to perform efficiently.
“The lady in question passed out May, 2020, which is eight months ago, and now, she is with six months of pregnancy. The Police Act 2020, which is undergoing amendment in the Senate, has not repealed that. She had contravened Section 127 of the Police Regulation.
“Section 126 of the Regulation stated that married woman police who is pregnant may be granted maternity leave, while Section 127 said unmarried woman police who becomes pregnant shall be discharged from the Force and shall not be enlisted except with the approval of the IGP.
“What some people talked about that her fundamental human rights had been trampled upon and that women should not be discriminated against while also saying the law has been repealed were not true. The regulation is still in place”.
Contrary to the widespread belief that the regulation has been expunged, Mobayo maintained the Police Amendment Bill 2019, which was brought and sponsored by Senator Uzenwa Onyebuchi at the Senate has not been passed, saying it has only got to the second reading.
“The amendment being sought has not been done neither had the bill get presidential assent. It has just been referred to the Senate Committee on Police Affairs for further scrutiny.
“Aside from the foregoing, the amended Police Act is different from Police Regulation”, Mobayo clarified.
Speaking further, the police commissioner stated that he had been a commandant in one of the police colleges before becoming a CP, saying he handled several cases akin to this with victims dismissed, having flouted the law, saying this could not have been treated as an exemption.
“I felt for that lady, though I never saw her before. We saw the medical report and we did due diligence on her case.
“We can’t shy away from the oath of office we took, but the IGP can still reverse whatever we do on the field.
“About 300 policewomen were graduated here last year. How would the public feel if they see all of them pregnant in less than a year? It will look ridiculous.
“We are not the drafters of the rules, we met them there. All these disciplinary actions are what made us to be able to control our men.
“No police constable is underaged and they should be able to know what to do not to get pregnant within the time prohibited by regulation”.
Explaining further, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, ASP Sunday Abutu, noted that every organisation has rules guiding their conduct, saying Omolola embarrassed the Force by flouting the Police Act which she agreed to adhere to when taking the job.
Abutu advised residents and stakeholders not to be emotional with her case but join the Force in enforcing the laid down rules and regulations guiding the conduct of officers.
According to him, “It is very much there in the police Act and anyone that is coming in especially a woman when she could get pregnant after some years but in her own case she joined less than a year ago and she got pregnant without a husband. It is against the Police Act.
“People bringing emotions and personal opinion to it should not be the case. In your own establishment, you have your own rules and regulations and no matter how small or big the rule is, nobody should go against it or take it for granted.
“Everyone in the Force knows that you must introduce someone as your husband; that is it. So, getting pregnant without doing this is an embarrassment to the Force. There is nothing too harsh in the punishment.
“Don’t forget she got enlisted into the Force not up to a year and there is no record of traditional, church, police marriage.”
The PPRO, however, revealed that she could still be recalled into the Force by the Inspector General of Police, calling on people to exercise restraint in the matter.
Abutu explained that Nigerians should focus their strengths in the fight against insecurity across the country, adding that she would not be the first to be dismissed from the Force for similar reasons.