It took the Civil Society Organisations exactly 16 years to achieve the gazetting of the Police Act, 2020, with Nigerians now awaiting the manifestation of those reforms in police and citizens’ behaviours. However, like Oliver Twist, these CSOs are asking for more; they want the over-delayed reviewed Police Regulations to be gazetted by the Federal Ministry of Justice. What are the bottlenecks causing this delay? JULIANA FRANCIS monitors the ongoing conversations.
Olajide Omolola enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force in 2019 as a constable and passed out of the Police Training School in 2020.
She would later become pregnant and dismissed based on regulation 127 of the Police Act, which forbids an unmarried woman police officer from getting pregnant. Counsel to Omolola argued that Regulation 127 of the Police Act is unconstitutional and grossly discriminatory.
Similarly, the counsel argued that Nigeria has domesticated the International Convention, which frowns at discrimination on grounds of sex. The Counsel submitted that Regulation 127 of the Police Act is inconsistent with the Right to Private Family Life by Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. It was because of situations like that of Omolola that many members of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria are pushing for a review of the Police Regulations.
Although the review has been done, it will remain a toothless bulldog if it is not gazetted by the Federal Ministry of Justice. Different confabs on the importance of the reviewed regulations being in sync with the Police Act and the unfathomable reasons for the continual delay by the Federal Ministry of Justice to gazette it is ongoing.
The CSO groups topping the discussion are the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre and Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN Foundation). The programmes officer of NOPRIN Foundation, Precious Osinaku, recalling the dramatic case of Omolola, said the policewoman was later reinstated through a landmark court ruling that found the police regulation permitting the dismissal of unmarried pregnant policewomen to be discriminatory.
Osinaku said: “The National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal ruled in Olajide’s favour, citing gender discrimination. Justice D. K. Damulak delivered the landmark judgment on January 11, 2023, declaring that the Police Regulation violates Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. Under Section 128, female officers are not to adorn themselves with ornaments and pieces of jewellery. This, in a way, erodes the fundamental human rights of female personnel. It raises privacy concerns. The provision, for instance, contradicts the Police Order on Dress Code (2022).
“Under Section 271, the instrument empowers the Inspector General of Police to issue Force Orders. Such orders may contradict existing superior regulatory frameworks. A case in point is the Dress Code Order of 2022, which permits the use of a Hijab (a sort of religious scarf) by female cops. The foregoing are just a few of the provisions illustrating the anachronism of the subsisting Police Regulations and the imperative of the Federal Ministry of Justice to ensure that the revised and updated Regulations are gazetted and become operational and in accord with the Police Act 2020.”
Osinaku said it is tacky for the Police Act and Police Regulations to be speaking different languages, arguing that both should be in sync. She noted that just as the Police Act has been reviewed and signed to foster accountability, the Police Regulation should speak to progress. She added that the police regulation is very restrictive.
Therefore, the Federal Ministry of Justice is being urged by the CSOs to as a matter of urgency, to gazette the reviewed Police Regulations so that it will be in sync with the Police Act, 2020.
The Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said: “We have a Police Regulation that contradicts the Police Act. The Federal Ministry of Justice is yet to gazette the reviewed Police Regulations. The ministry needs to contribute to the ongoing reforms. Personally, the police regulations are more important than the police act.
“The Nigeria Police Act 2020 aims to modernise policing in Nigeria, shifting from colonial practices to a framework centred on accountability, human rights, and community trust.
“While the Act outlines these progressive principles, the existing Police Regulations, a subsidiary legislation, remains outdated and contradictory to the new Act. This inconsistency hampers effective implementation. The reviewed Police Regulations, which involved collaboration between various stakeholders such as civil society organisations, the police, and governmental ministries, must be expedited for gazetting.
“The Federal Ministry of Justice is urged to act promptly to finalise these Regulations, ensuring they align with the Police Act to effectively mitigate human rights violations, including gender discrimination, and enhance accountability within the police force.
“The reform of Nigeria’s Police Regulations is a cornerstone for building a modern, accountable, and community-centred police force. While substantial progress has been made in drafting and revising these Regulations, the stalling of the gazetting process by the Federal Ministry of Justice remains a major impediment.
“Addressing these challenges requires coordinated advocacy, strong political commitment, and enhanced institutional efficiency to ensure the long-awaited reforms become a reality.”
Nwanguma said that over the years, it has become apparent that a presidential committee or similar ad-hoc initiatives cannot solely accomplish the task of reforming the Nigeria Police Force. According to him, reforming the police needs a multi-prong approach with all stakeholders working collaboratively, with each agency implementing its mandate and contributing to the overall task of reforming the Nigeria Police Force.
He further said: “Previously, one of the impediments to seeing tangible changes in the Nigeria Police Force was hinged on its legal framework. In September 2020, after 16 years of advocacy led by Nigerian civil society organisations, the Police Act 2020 was signed into law. Shortly after the law was accented to, the ENDSARS protest erupted, spreading across the country. During the 16-year journey of advocating for the review of the Police Act, there was a decision to separate the Regulations from the Police Act because it is a subsidiary legislation and the legal framework that sets out the day-to-day running of the Police as an organisation.
“The leadership of several civil society organisations working on this legislation in collaboration with the leadership of the National Assembly made this decision based on some of the following observations: there are oversight bodies whose mandate based on their establishment statutes gives them the responsibility to make policy decisions that impact on the day-to-day working of the Nigeria Police Force. Some of these organisations are the Police Service Commission, Ministry of Police Affairs, and National Human Rights Commission, among others. The review of the regulations should be more periodic and initiated as a multi-stakeholder process to ensure that it aligns with constitutional principles, international human rights standards, and evolving needs of the Nigerian society.”
Nwanguma noted that it was obvious that the reform of Nigeria’s Police Regulations represents a critical component in the broader agenda for public safety and security reform. “These Regulations, originally framed under colonial-era paradigms, have long been considered outdated and unfit to address the complexities of contemporary policing in Nigeria. It does not align with the Police Act 2020,” he asserted.
He disclosed that since 2021, concerted efforts by the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Police Affairs, Police Service Commission, National Human Rights Commission, civil society organisations, legal practitioners, and other policymakers have sought to modernise these regulations to align with constitutional principles, international human rights standards, evolving needs of Nigerian society and the Police Act 2020. The activist mentioned that advocacy efforts have been pivotal in highlighting the need for reform, stressing that various stakeholders have collaborated to push for amendments that reflect democratic values, accountability, and inclusivity.
A lawyer, Nathaniel Ngwu of the Criminal Justice Network of Nigeria, said that reforming should embrace all uniform agencies and not just the police. According to him, other sister agencies aside from the Police are also committing shocking atrocities and human rights violations.
Ngwu said: “However, we know that if we get it right with the Nigeria Police, we will get it right with other uniformed personnel. Police may have done a lot of harm, but they have also done a lot of good. There is a need for harmonisation between the Act and Regulation.”
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Emmanuel Ikule of Elixir Foundation said: “When we talk about human rights we talk about leadership. Many of our Nigerian leaders look at protecting themselves rather than the citizens. It has been the CSOs that have been pushing for reform of the police act and regulation, to ensure both were signed. On the Act, it took us 16 years before it was signed. Now, we have an outdated police regulation and a reformed police act. It is now our responsibility, CSOs, media, Federal Ministry of Justice, stakeholders and all Nigerians to push that the Police Regulation should be signed.”
Osinaku said that gaps in the Police Regulations highlight some sections, the provisions, the justification for their revision, removal, and comparison to other legislation. She explained: “Section 4, which deals with territorial divisions, and jurisdictions of the Police Commands, reflects the erstwhile 21-state structure of the federation, with defunct Gongola and Bendel states as well as other re-created states, still on the list. Today, Nigeria is a 36-state federation; therefore, the list of territorial divisions should be revisited and updated. The 2020 Police Act refers to the current 36 federal structure of Nigeria.
“Sections 42 and 52 require that a candidate for recruitment into the Force ‘shall be unmarried’. This contradicts the Police Act 2020 as well as the Police Gender Policy. The Police Act 2020 is gender-neutral on recruitment questions; the Police Gender Policy prohibits all forms of gender discrimination in the operations of the Force. Section 118 requires that a prospective female officer must not be married or pregnant to qualify for enlistment. This contradicts the Police Act 2020 as well as the Police Gender Policy. The Police Act 2020 is gender-neutral on recruitment questions; the Police Gender Policy prohibits all forms of gender discrimination in the operations of the Force.
“Sections 121, 122, and 123 restrict the participation of female police officers in certain lines of duties such as non-combat, ceremonial, and clerical operations. This provision promotes gender discrimination and prejudice, which is against the position of the Police Gender Policy on gender equity and equality. It is also against the gender-neutral stance of the Police Act (2020).”
Osinaku also said that Section 124 requires female personnel to apply for marriage; the suitor too is to be screened for criminal record. This provision, she contended, is at best, discriminatory and patriarchal.
She added: “This is against the position of the Police Gender Policy on gender equity and equality; it is also against the gender-neutral stance of the Police Act (2020). Section 127 stipulates that an unmarried officer who becomes pregnant while in service shall be dismissed and not be admitted, except with the approval of the IGP. This is both discriminatory and masculinist. The male officer who impregnates a female officer or, indeed, any other woman is not subjected to a similar penalty. This is against the position of the Police Gender Policy on gender equity and equality; it is also against the gender-neutral stance of the Police Act 2020.”
She observed that under Section 128, female officers are not to adorn themselves with ornaments and pieces of jewellery. “This, in a way, erodes the fundamental human rights of the female personnel. It raises privacy concerns. The provision, for instance, contradicts the Police Order on Dress Code (2022),” she said.
Similarly, under Section 271, said Osinaku, the instrument empowers the IGP to issue Force Orders. She added: “Such orders may contradict existing superior regulatory frameworks. A case in point is the Dress Code Order of 2022, which permits the use of a Hijab, a religious scarf used by female cops. The foregoing are just a few of the provisions illustrating the anachronism of the subsisting Police Regulations and the imperative of the Federal Ministry of Justice to ensure that the revised and updated Regulations are gazetted and become operational and in accord with the Police Act 2020.”
The CSOs explained that following the enactment of the Police Act 2020, there was a mandate to overhaul the Police Regulations to reflect the new law’s provisions. A technical interagency and inter-sectoral drafting committee, comprising legal experts, policymakers, and civil society representatives, developed revised regulations emphasising professionalism, ethical standards, and community-oriented policing, was set up.
This was carried out through a clause-by-clause review and a harmonisation process based on feedback from stakeholders. The CSOs further said that to ensure inclusivity, consultations were held with key stakeholders, including the police hierarchy, non-governmental organisations, and the public. “These engagements enriched the drafting process, ensuring the proposed regulations were both practical and progressive,” the group said.
With the drafting process completed, the proposed Police Regulations were submitted to the Federal Ministry of Justice in April 2024 for review and eventual gazetting, a crucial step in granting the regulations legal force. According to the CSOs, despite significant progress, the gazetting process has faced delays, primarily due to challenges associated with the Federal Ministry of Justice.
One of the challenges is the ministry’s procedural bottlenecks, which have slowed the review and approval processes. These delays, often rooted in administrative inefficiencies, hinder timely action on critical policy reforms. Also, the Ministry of Justice manages multiple legal and regulatory responsibilities. As a result, the Police Regulation may not receive the priority it requires, leading to protracted delays in gazetting.
The implications of delays in the gazetting process have far-reaching implications. “It hinders the implementation of reforms intended to professionalize the police force and improve its relationship with the public. Moreover, the delay perpetuates the use of outdated Regulations that fail to address current realities, undermining efforts to promote accountability and enhance public safety,” Nwanguma said.
Nwanguma said that CSOs and other stakeholders must intensify advocacy efforts to ensure the Federal Ministry of Justice prioritises the gazetting process. This was even as Osinaku emphasised that strategic engagements with policymakers and leveraging public opinion could help achieve this goal. She maintained that the executive arm of the government, particularly the Minister of Justice, must demonstrate the political will to advance the reform agenda. She noted that clear directives and timelines for completing the gazetting process are necessary.
“Addressing the bureaucratic inefficiencies within the Federal Ministry of Justice is critical. Introducing digital processes and streamlining approval workflows could significantly reduce delays,” Osinaku said.
The CSO members also agreed that independent monitoring mechanisms should be established to track the progress of the gazetting process and hold relevant actors accountable for delays.
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