Metropolitan Police officer faces the possibility of being sacked after having sex on Big Brother Nigeria

METROPOLITAN Police officer Khafi Kareem is facing the threat of being dismissed from the London force after she appeared on Big Brother Nigeria where she had sexual intercourse with another housemate during the series.

Nigerian-born policewoman Kareem, who works in Lambeth, is currently on unpaid leave in Nigeria and appeared in the television series without permission. She had asked the Metropolitan Police if she could take part in the show and was told she could not but still went ahead and appeared and to make matters worse began an affair with fellow contestant Ekpata Gedoni.

Big Brother Nigeria follows the same format as the British version of the show, in which contestants live in an isolated house with cameras watching them. According to the Metropolitan Police, it does not support Pc Kareem's appearance on the show and she does not represent the force while she is taking part.

In November last year, Pc Kareem was pictured alongside Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, to celebrate 100 years of women in the force. How career is now in jeopardy as she will face an investigation by the Directorate of Professional Standards, which is charged with ensuring that officers do not bring the police into disrepute.

"All police officers have a duty to behave with professionalism and in a manner that does not bring the Met into disrepute whether on or off duty.  Those who do not behave professionally risk breaching police standards of professional behaviour and may be dealt with by way of misconduct proceedings," a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.

He added that Pc Kareem is within a period of unpaid time off work which was granted for an unrelated reason before she asked to go into the Big Brother house. Videos on Nigerian media appear to show Pc Kareem having sex on the programme, which have now gone viral.

However, a spokesman for Pc Kareem said the report deliberately and conveniently omitted her side of the story to sell a pre-conceived narrative.  He accused reports of playing to a repressive culture of shaming and characterising women for their sexual decisions and life choices.

"Khafi is a proud black female police officer who prides herself in her work and has dedicated her youthful years protecting and serving with her many skills. This includes the ability to speak at least five international languages," he added.