Assistant Inspector General Aishatu Abubakar-Baju is the most senior female police officer in Nigeria. On Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme, she speaks on her remarkable journey, developments in the Force and policies for all-inclusive policing.

Tell us about your journey for young girls out there who see you and think this happened overnight.

Well, thank you very much. Talking about celebrations, we are celebrating a lot. Before I talk about myself, I want to inform you that this year marks 70 years of women in policing in Nigeria. The first set of female officers to be enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force was in April 1955. So it’s 70 years this year. That’s another celebration for us.

Tell us about your story.

I came from a very humble background, from the beautiful city of Biu in Borno State, and I grew up in Adamawa State with my maternal grandmother. I was brought up by my grandmother who was a matron in a secondary school, even though she never went to a formal school.

I came up from the background of a matron, somebody who was passionate about education. After my primary and secondary education, I gained admission to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, after which I proceeded to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. I graduated in 1995, and I did my NYSC.

Coincidentally, well, I think on a very good note, I did my NYSC with the Nigeria Police Force here in Abuja, and I think that was where I fell in love with the job, after which I got enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force immediately after my NYSC that same year in 1995.

I joined as an Assistant Superintendent of Police and trained at the Police College in Ikeja. Coming from my background, I’m somebody who always liked to go to school and the police also provided me with that opportunity to develop myself further.

I got an admission to do my PhD at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom and then I got an award for that PhD from UNESCO L’Oreal, for the UNESCO L’Oréal Fellowship for Young Women in Science. I was one of the 14 women in the world who got that fellowship to support my PhD work. I came back, and I’m almost rounding up with my Master’s in Security and Strategic Studies.

I grew through the ranks and went also for different training in policing. I went to the Staff College for Junior and Intermediate Command Course in the Staff College in Jos, and I’ve done a lot of other courses for policing both within and outside this country. At least the police have provided that opportunity for me to develop myself further and I’m grateful for that.

I’m happily married, and we have three children. So, working, being a police officer, a wife and then a career woman.

This should be your 30th year in the Nigeria Police Force. I understand you joined in 1995, and you talked about 70 years of women being in the Nigeria Police Force, but we have not had a female IGP. Should we be expecting someone like you?

The position of the Inspector General of Police is at the discretion of Mr. President. It’s whosoever the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria finds worthy. Only one IG can be in office at any time; there cannot be two IGs. The most important thing is that women are given opportunities to grow; women are given opportunities to develop themselves in the Nigeria Police Force. If you look at my own story, I came in with a DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) degree. I have a Master’s, I have a PhD. I have some other qualifications. It has allowed us to develop ourselves, and I believe that it’s just a matter of time. Women are doing very well so far. There can only be one Inspector General of Police and I don’t think it has anything to do with gender. It’s just at the discretion of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; whosoever he finds worthy of that office, of course, he will give them. I look at the opportunities for being able to develop yourself and also contribute your quota, irrespective of your gender.

Your story is interesting. I’m fascinated by how you fell in love with the force because if you counted the list of fields of professional practice to fall in love with, the police force would not be one of them for most Nigerians, particularly young Nigerians.

I never planned to become a police officer. It has not been part of one of those careers I’ve ever thought for myself. But you know, sometimes fate also drives you to wherever it is that God has designed for you. Growing up, I kept telling people that I used to be very afraid of the police.

In those days, when I was growing up, whenever I became naughty at home, my grandmother would say: ‘I will call the police for you’ and I would go under the bed. So, for my family, it was a big shock and surprise that I ended up being a police officer. After my one year in service (NYSC) and my interaction with the Nigerian police, the policemen, and women in the force, I saw what it is to be a police officer. I truly fell in love with the job. I ended up being a police officer, and I’m happy. I keep saying that if I’m coming back to this world again, I want to be a police officer, it’s satisfying.

That’s cheery to hear. I can see the way you’re beaming with smiles. I think you should be one of the poster girls in that sense for the police. How safe is it for women in the police force?

It is the responsibility of the police to protect the lives and property of Nigerians, irrespective of whether they are men or women. The current Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, since he came on board as IGP, has been very intentional about protecting women and girls in our

community, about inclusive policing, gender-sensitive policing, and gender-responsive policing, in line with the United Nations Security Council Resolution, making sure that the Nigerian police is gender-responsive, gender-sensitive, and gender equal.

It’s about ensuring that there’s equal opportunity for both female and male officers in the Nigerian police and also responsive policing in terms of our interaction with the public to make sure that we look at it from a different perspective; from the perspective of a man, from the perspective of a woman, the needs of a man and the needs of a woman. So that means being gender-responsive in our practice, making sure that nobody is being discriminated against just because of their gender.

Coming to the issue of protection, the IGP has made certain pronouncements, especially in terms of gender-based violence against women and girls. We have dedicated gender desk offices in all 36 states of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory.

Last month, the IGP expanded these gender desk offices to the divisional level to make sure that we have gender desks at the divisional level.

That’s a welcome development in the Force. But let me follow up with this question. Certain regulations of the Police Force provide for the sack of unmarried women police officers who get pregnant. Has that been struck out or made inactive, particularly following the case of Corporal Omolola Olajide, who was sacked from the Force a few years ago because she got pregnant?

Section 127 and any section of the Police Act and Regulations that has gender discrimination have been expunged from the Police Act of 2020. The IGP just last year launched the Nigerian Police Gender Policy just to make sure that there is a complete eradication of any form of gender discrimination.

I can tell you that the Nigerian Police has come of age, we have moved and the IG is intentional about all its inclusivity and making sure that the Nigerian police is an equal opportunity institution. In those days, the law said that you just recruit a woman police for traffic control, for this, for that. Gone are the days. We have women police in operational positions now. So, all those discriminatory sections of the Police Act and Regulations have been removed.

Let’s speak specifically. Are you saying that as of today, if an unmarried police officer, a female, gets pregnant, she will not be kicked out of the Police Force? Is that what you’re saying? Yes. (Channels TV)