Female police officers in Nigeria can now wear stud earrings and headscarf under their berets or peak caps as the case may be while in uniform.
Spokesman for the police, Mr. Olumuyiwa Adejobi said in a statement that the inspector general of police, Mr. Usman Baba announced the new dress code at a meeting with strategic police managers in Abuja.
According to the release issued yesterday, adejobi quoted the IGP as saying that the Nigeria Police workforce has officers from every local government area in the country with a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds, and an increased inclusion of female folks.
“This therefore brings the need to guarantee inclusion, gender mainstreaming, ethnic and religious diversity in the workplace for optimum output and professionalism.
“This has informed the improvement for effective global workforce diversity management. Other countries that have adopted the same dress code include Canada, the United States of America, Sweden, Turkey, Australia and the United Kingdom amongst others.
“The dress code is optional and senior women police officers have been tasked by the IGP to ensure compliance with the approved standard for women police officers who have opted to adopt the dress code,” said the statement.
Baba also noted that the development, which is in line with international best practices, addresses the growing concern for gender mainstreaming and respect for culture and diversity.
