GENDER INEQUALITY AND OFFICIAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST

WOMEN BY NIGERIAN AGENCIES.

Feb 22, 2010

By Clifford Ogbeide

According to section 17 (1) (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria which say: "That every citizen shall have the equality of right, obligations,
and opportunity before the law; section 42 of the same constitution also says that
no Nigerian citizen shall be discriminated against because of a particular sex,
religion or ethnic group”. And it also guarantees the right to private and family life.
Furthermore, Article 18(3) of the West African Charter on the People's Human
Rights also frowns against discriminatory practices on grounds of sex.” And
Nigeria is a signatory to this charter.

In the light of the above assertion, it worrisome to note of the plight of a

dismissed former employee of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,
(NDLEA) Miss Udoka Tochukwu, on account of her engagement to a driver with
the Niger Delta Development Agency,(NDDC) Mr. Ozorumba Osondu in her
recent testimony to the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges and also that
the agency recommended the abortion of her pregnancy in an attempt to stop
her from getting married. Its more dishearten that this kind of policy is in
operation in the 21st Century Nigeria that some government agencies still
operates such obnoxious rules and barbaric practices that contravenes the
constitution amidst the fight against discrimination of women, and gender
equality around the world.

The Nigeria Police Force is guilty of this offence as a section of its Act expressly
spell out that before a female police officer get married, she must notify and get
permission from the Police Commissioner of her command. This is gross
violation of the right of female police Officers and gender discrimination. What
about their Male counterpart? Does the same rule apply? If no, this section of
the police Act should be deleted immediately. Also of importance to note, is the
practice whereby some Police stations do not allow female citizens to take
people on bail despite Inspector General of Police directive (IGP) against such
practices.

Before now, The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) operated same discriminatory
practices against women before a Federal High Court sitting Port Harcourt on
June 1, 2009 presided over by Hon. Justice G.K. Olotu in his declaration in a suit
brought before it by Dr. Priye Iyalla-Amadi, wife of renowned author, Elechi
Amadi, against the Director General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (first
defendant) (NIS), (second defendant) and the service itself against the previous
administrative policy of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) compelling a
married Nigerian woman to produce a letter of consent from her husband as a
condition for issuance of international passport as unconstitutional and a violation
of Section 42 (1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution and Article 18(3) of the West African
Charter on the People's Human Rights, being discriminatory on grounds of sex,
hence unlawful and unconstitutional. The policy equated Nigerian married
women alongside with minors by the government as persons who require
consent from the head of the family.

The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has not help matters also in
this regard. Section 26 of the 1999 makes discriminatory provisions against
women in terms of the inability of their foreign husbands to acquire Nigerian
citizenship automatically by marriage and this is not the same with male citizens
with their foreign wives. This section needs to be amended.

In 2006, the federal ministry of Women's Affairs (FMWA) pushed for the adoption
of the National Gender Policy to replace the National Policy on Women, which
was adopted in 2000. The overall policy goal is to build a just society devoid of
discrimination, harness the full potentials of all social groups regardless of sex or
circumstance, promote the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and protect
the health, social, economic and political well being of all citizens in order to
achieve equitable rapid economic growth; evolve an evidence - based planning
and governance system where human, social, financial and technological
resources are efficiently and effectively deployed for sustainable development.

While one of its policy objectives is to include the principles of United Nation's
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) and other global and regional frameworks that support gender equality
and women empowerment in the country's laws, legislative processes, judicial
and administrative systems. Nigeria acceded to United Nation's Convention on
the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1984
and signed the ratification document in 1985.

Finally, it’s my candid opinion that every Nigerian citizens should be treated
equally with dignity and given the same right by government agencies since
Constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on the
authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Clifford Ogbeide
Centre For Strategic & Development Studies,
Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, Nigeria
Email: Ogbeide2000@yahoo.com