TIB Movement Backs Sowore, Rejects Policewomen’s Call For Apology For Exposing Favouritism In Promotions

The Gender Unit of the Take It Back (TIB) Movement has rejected calls by some female police officers for activist Omoyele Sowore to apologise over his comments on alleged sex-for-promotion practices in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

In a statement signed by the Acting Head of Department, Gender, Temitope Ayedogbon, the movement described the move as “dead on arrival.”

“‎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,” the statement read.

“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,” the group said.

The TIB Movement added: “‎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.”

It insisted that Sowore had a long-standing record of supporting women’s rights.

“‎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,” it said.

“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.”

The group said it was an “open secret” that women in many public institutions, including the NPF, face pressure to exchange sexual favours for career advancement.

It said, “‎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.”

The organisation called on policewomen to report such abuses rather than target those who expose them.

“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,” it said.

It concluded by urging solidarity with all whistleblowers.

“‎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,” it said.

SaharaReporters previously reported that Kayode Egbetokun-led Nigerian police had accused Sowore of promoting mutiny over his insistence that police personnel welfare should be improved upon, while retired police officers’ pensions should not be paltry.

He had also raised concerns about the process of the controversial police promotions, which have been flagged to be done with bias and favouritism.