Nigeria police force approves use of Hijab for Muslim female officers

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has commended the Inspector General of police, Usman Alkali-Baba, for approving the use of Hijab by Muslim policewomen across the country.

The commendation is contained in a statement signed on Friday, 4 March, by the Zamfara State Chairman of MURIC, Prof. Ahmad Galadima, Daily Nigeria reports.

The group described the approval as a landmark development and the beginning of a new dawn.

The statement reads in part: “The High Command of the Nigeria Police Force under the watch of the Inspector General of police, Usman Alkali Baba, has approved the use of hijab for the rank and file of its female workforce.

“The approval is one of the efforts of the leadership of the NPF, to encourage freedom of worship and promotion of religious tolerance within the police force and by extension, the general public. However, its use is optional and must conform to the approved style and design.

“This will be a welcome development to many Muslims, and accords respect to the Nigeria Police Force. In many, other countries of the world, especially in America, Canada, Britain, policewomen are allowed to wear Hijabs, as part of their uniforms’

“MURIC hereby expresses deep appreciation to the Nigeria Police High Command, particularly the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba for listening to the pleas and advocacies of MURIC and other Muslim groups which have been demanding the use of hijab in the security and uniformed agencies for decades.

“This is a landmark development in the history of the struggle for Muslim civil rights. It is the greatest news of the century and the beginning of a new dawn. It is another bite from the dividends of democracy for Nigerian Muslims.

“With this approval, the Nigeria Police High Command has proved that it is keeping pace with global best practices in police formations around the world.

“It is an open secret that female Muslims in police formations (including their army) in Britain, the United States, Canada, etc use hijab with their uniforms. Nigerians who travel abroad cannot deny this. Therefore, what the Nigeria Police High Command has done is not new.

“We advise wailing wailers to accept the development as a natural evolution in civil rights struggle in the country. It will be petty, parochial and archaic to oppose the introduction of something that is already being practised in advanced countries.”