CISLAC Pushes For 30% Female Quota In Police Recruitment, Backs Gender-Responsive Reforms
With Nigeria’s security landscape rapidly evolving, civil society actors say the country can no longer afford a policing model rooted in outdated, exclusionary practices.
This was the central message delivered by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) at the National Assembly on Monday, where the organisation demanded bolder gender reforms in the ongoing amendment of the Nigeria Police Act.
CISLAC, speaking through Senior Programme Officer Gimba Suleiman Hassan, Esq., urged lawmakers to raise the proposed recruitment quota for women from 15% to a minimum of 30%, aligning Nigeria with African Union and ECOWAS benchmarks for inclusive security sector governance.
The group noted that women currently make up less than 11% of the Nigeria Police Force, far below international standards for modern, community-responsive policing.
The recommendation, presented at a Public Hearing organised by the House Committee on Police Affairs, received warm applause from participants.
Several lawmakers signalled openness to setting a transitional target of 20%, a position CISLAC described as encouraging but in need of further ambition.
In a significant development at the hearing, the Head of the Legal Unit at the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs, Mr Okorie Kalu, announced that new Police Regulations are being drafted to eliminate discriminatory policies.
These include removing marital and pregnancy restrictions, abolishing gender-based duty assignments, and ending gender-specific dress codes.
CISLAC also advanced wider reforms aimed at modernising policing, such as phasing out analogue record-keeping, establishing a unified digital crime-tracking system, particularly for gender-based violence, mandatory documentation of investigative outcomes, and the creation of a Gender and Inclusion Compliance Directorate.
It further recommended compulsory gender-responsive budgeting and annual gender audits to enhance accountability.
The organisation stressed that Nigeria cannot achieve effective 21st-century policing without embracing digitisation, transparency, and gender parity.
It reiterated its commitment to supporting the National Assembly to build a more inclusive, professional, and rights-based Police Force capable of tackling the country’s complex security challenges.
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