The Advocacy Centre for Women’s Rights and Development (ACWRD) has launched a blistering attack on Sahara Reporters and its publisher, Omoyele Sowore, accusing them of orchestrating a “calculated, politically-tainted and gender-loaded witch-hunt” against recently promoted female officers of the Nigeria Police Force.
In a fiery statement released in Abuja, and signed by Princess Veronica Ochei, the women’s advocacy group said the coordinated smear campaign is an insult to Nigerian women and an assault on decades of progress in the fight for gender equality.
The controversy stems from the recent promotion of several senior female officers, approved by the Police Service Commission (PSC) after recommendation by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun. While the exercise covered male and female officers, ACWRD says Sowore and his media outfit “turned a blind eye to the men but singled out the women for public ridicule and insinuations.”
“This is not activism, this is online gender violence disguised as journalism,” ACWRD charged. “It is an attempt to delegitimize the professional achievements of women in uniform, and it reeks of political bias.”
The group accused Sowore and Sahara Reporters of hypocrisy, noting that they now claim to have influenced the promotion exercise while, in reality, weaponising their platform to disparage the very women whose promotions they take credit for.
ACWRD reminded Nigerians that women have long served as pillars of the nation’s security and development, from AIG Ivy Uche Okoronkwo and DIG Celestina Kalu in the police force, to heroines like Kudirat Abiola and Olufunmilayo Ransome-Kuti who stood against injustice.
“These newly promoted officers are not tokens; they are seasoned professionals who have bled and sweated for this country. To mock their rise is to spit on the sacrifices of all women who have served Nigeria in uniform,” the group declared.
The advocacy centre urged Nigerians to reject “the toxic culture of dragging women down in the name of political point-scoring.” It also warned that sustained online attacks on female officers could discourage capable women from aspiring to leadership roles in law enforcement and public service.
“We will not stand by while political opportunists turn female achievement into fodder for cheap headlines. This is a clarion call for all patriots, stand with our women or be counted among their oppressors,” ACWRD said.
The statement concludes with a rallying cry for Nigerians to flood social media with messages of solidarity for the promoted female officers and to publicly challenge what it calls “Sowore’s gender-targeted propaganda machine.”
“Today, it’s women in the police. Tomorrow, it could be women in politics, the judiciary, or the armed forces. This assault must be stopped now,” the group warned.
