Mary Yetunde Aina, a Nigerian female police officer, has won the World Boxing Foundation (WBF) International Super Bantamweight belt.
At the event, which took place at the City Coast Centre in Portslade, East Sussex, London on Friday, February 18, saw her edge out United Kingdom’s Laura Pain.
Aina drew the admiration of the Nigeria Police Force, including the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, who issued a statement on Sunday via the acting Force spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, noting that she has distinguished herself greatly in the boxing sphere.
He stated that the officer, nicknamed Iron Abbey, serves in the Lagos State Police Command and has won several awards and recommendations as a boxing referee at the amateur level.
“She is equally a renowned boxing judge and professional boxer with a clean sheet and several amateur wins to her name,” the statement read.
“The IGP, who intends to receive the champion in Nigeria on arrival soon, commended the cop for her courage and giant strides in making the nation and the Nigeria Police Force proud. In the same vein, the IGP called on sports enthusiasts within the Force to be unrelenting in developing their skills and dauntless in charting new frontiers in the world of sports.
“Similarly, IGP while applauding the unprecedented feats recorded in the Nigeria Police Sports circle, charged officers of the Nigeria Police Force to develop and diversify their talents towards the advancement of modern policing strategies that are capable of strengthening the internal security of the country as required.”