The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Transparency International – Nigeria, has called on the National Assembly to raise the proposed women’s recruitment quota in the Nigeria Police Act (Amendment) Bill from 15% to a minimum of 30%, in line with the African Union and ECOWAS benchmarks on gender inclusion in security sector governance. The National Policy of Women, adopted in 2000, recommended a 30% reservation for women in appointments.
The Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, made the submission during the Public Hearing organised by the House Committee on Police Affairs at the National Assembly on Monday, 17 November 2025. He was represented by the organisation’s Senior Programme Officer, Gimba Suleiman Hassan, Esq.
In its presentation, CISLAC reiterated that a 30% benchmark is not only globally recognised as the minimum threshold for meaningful representation but a necessary corrective to decades of structural exclusion of women in policing. The organisation emphasised that women currently constitute less than 11% of the Nigeria Police Force, a figure far below regional and international standards for inclusive policing.
CISLAC’s recommendation was met with applause from stakeholders at the hearing, with several panel members expressing willingness to consider a compromise starting point of 20%. The organisation welcomed the openness of the Committee and encouraged lawmakers to be bold and progressive in adopting stronger gender reforms.
During the hearing, the Head of the Legal Unit at the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs, Mr Okorie Kalu, announced that the Ministry is developing new Police Regulations to eliminate discriminatory criteria. The new rules, he stated, will remove marital and pregnancy restrictions, abolish gender-based duty assignments, and end gendered dress codes—reforms long advocated by CISLAC.
As part of its broader recommendations, CISLAC also called for:
• Phasing out analogue record-keeping at all levels of the Police Force;
• Establishment of a digital, unified, and perpetual record system for crimes, especially those involving gender-based violence (GBV) and human rights violations;
• Mandatory documentation of investigative outcomes and prosecutions in a transparent and accessible format;
• Creation of a Gender and Inclusion Compliance Directorate with the statutory authority to monitor recruitment, training, postings, promotions, and disciplinary procedures;
• Compulsory gender-responsive budgeting across the Police Force;
• Annual gender audits and public reporting to strengthen accountability.
CISLAC stressed that modern policing in a 21st-century democracy cannot operate on outdated, analogue, or discriminatory frameworks. It noted that a digitised and gender-responsive system enhances professionalism, improves public trust, and strengthens Nigeria’s ability to prevent and prosecute GBV, human rights abuses, and corruption-related offences.
The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the National Assembly in developing a more inclusive, transparent, accountable, and rights-based Police Force capable of responding to Nigeria’s security challenges in line with global best practices.