Female officers in Nigeria Police Force ‘rise to 12%’

The police high command says the percentage of women building careers in the Nigerian police force has been pushed to 12% contrary to the experience in the past when fewer number of women were employed only to serve tea. It also revealed not less than six women were currently on the covetous rank of Assistant […]

The police high command says the percentage of women building careers in the Nigerian police force has been pushed to 12% contrary to the experience in the past when fewer number of women were employed only to serve tea.

It also revealed not less than six women were currently on the covetous rank of Assistant Inspectors-General of Police after the barrier that limited the retirement rank for women to Chief Superintendent of Police was abolished.

The Force Gender Advisor, Aishatu Baju, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, disclosed these while fielding questions from journalists at a press conference to mark 70 years of women in policing (1955 -2025).

Baju, who was accompanied by the Director, Force Medical Services, Nkechi Eze and the Force spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, also revealed that only 20 women were recruited into the force in 1955 to serve the men in force tea.

“Regarding the total number of women in the police, I won’t be able to tell you the exact figure but what I can tell you is that it is around 10-12% of the total population of the Nigerian police, which we are working towards increasing,” she explained.

The Adamawa-born senior officer noted that there has been a lot of improvement regarding the absorption of women into the force, saying they are now holding strategic positions within the Force.

She added, “The number of women enlisted in 1955 were 20, and as I said, we still have one of them that is surviving. I visited her yesterday in Port Harcourt. She is 95 years old. She is going to be 96 in the next two months and I am sure we will celebrate her.

“So, we’re looking forward to hosting her in particular during this event. She is very sound. Her memory is sharp. I was able to have a conversation with her. And she could recall a lot of things that have happened during that time. Her name is DCP Stella Okwuyida (retd). She retired like 40 years back.

“The role of women over the years: when you look at this from 1955 to date, there are a lot of differences, a lot of improvements. If you look at those days, why women were employed during that time was just specifically to serve the men tea, to serve as telephone operators, to control traffic for young school children and so on.

“But as you can see today, it has evolved. And in those days also, before Mama retired, at the beginning, they carved it, that you couldn’t go beyond the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police.

“It was at some point that this carving was removed and we found women growing. Of course, you know that it is far from serving tea, I’m not serving anybody tea. We have a lot of women that are holding very sensitive and operational positions in the Nigerian police.

“Over time, we have evolved, that’s what we want to showcase in our documentary, to see from that day, the woman that was just recruited or listened to some tea and asked for an operational position.

“In those days, they said we couldn’t carry arms. Now, our women are very professional at carrying arms. I have the commander of the women’s squadron, and I have to tell you that our women are carrying arms at all levels of the job. We have commissioners of police holding states, formations.”