ATTEMPT TO USE GENDER RIGHTS BLACKMAIL AGAINST SOWORE OVER #POLICEPROTESTS IS DEAD ON ARRIVAL!

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Statement of The Take It Back Movement Gender Unit
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‎ATTEMPT TO USE GENDER RIGHTS BLACKMAIL AGAINST SOWORE OVER #POLICEPROTESTS IS DEAD ON ARRIVAL!

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‎We understand that certain female officers of the Nigeria Police Force, demanding an apology from activist Omoyele Sowore. Their reason is that Sowore’s exposure of the ridiculous favouritism and sex-for-promotions nepotistic acts going in the echelon of the Force, is a crime.
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‎ While we appreciate the fact that women are defending their dignity, we beg to disagree that Sowore has committed any crimes by speaking against despicable acts of some women. Plenty women in the Nigeria Police Force deserve promotions, not just two who are being favoured by the IGP.
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‎We join Nigerian women to condemn this call for an apology from Sowore because their defence appears to be in service of a system that has, for decades, weaponized women’s bodies while stifling the genuine voices of women.
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‎Omoyele Sowore is not an enemy of women. His record speaks for itself, from speaking up against misogynistic dress code laws, to defending victims of sexual violence to amplifying the voices of women in politics, education, and activism. His critique of recent police promotions is not a blanket condemnation of female officers and should not be mistaken as such. It is a call to rank-and-file policewomen to confront the rot of sex-for-promotion and sex-for-jobs culture that has long plagued Nigeria’s security institutions.
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‎It is an open secret that in too many corners of our public life, especially within structures like the Nigerian police, women are pressured, subtly or openly, to trade sexual compliance for career advancement. This is not “meritocracy.” It is systemic exploitation. It devalues the achievements of women who earned their place through skill and dedication, and it entrenches the very patriarchy gender equality advocates are fighting to dismantle. If we allow the powers-that-be in the NPF to weaponise feminism against a consistent ally of women, we will only turn women’s liberation into a shield for corruption. Nigerian women, in uniform and beyond, deserve better.
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‎We therefore call on women who are facing this issue within the police force to reach out to us so that we can take it up just like we took up the struggle for promotion and pensions. Instead of directing collective outrage at a man known for his solidarity with women, the more courageous path for the women of the Nigeria Police Force is to break the silence by demanding a fully public, verifiable list of all recent promotions, male and female. This is also the time to call for an independent investigation into sexual exploitation in the Nigerian Police Force.
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‎At the last #PoliceProtests, a retired policewoman publicly raised the issue of the sex-for-promotions saga in the NPF. This is what Sowore is against. All good women, all working class women should rise against the despicable commodification and exploitation of women at all sectors and levels!
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‎Finally, we urge the women of the NPF to not just become whistleblowers on this issue, but to also stand with all whistleblowers, whether they wear a uniform or not, who seek to expose abuse of power. True gender solidarity does not mean defending someone simply because they are women. It means defending justice, transparency, and dignity, especially when powerful systems seek to hide behind the language of women’s rights to avoid accountability.

Signed:
Temitope Ayedogbon
Acting HOD, Gender Department
Take it Back Movement