The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Tijani Fatai, has directed officers to stop the practice of searching citizens’ mobile phones, stating that such actions are not allowed under existing policing rules.
He gave the directive in a video shared by News Central TV
on Tuesday, where he stressed the need for professionalism, discipline, and
respect for human rights during police duties.
Fatai added that officers should not be concerned about
being filmed while carrying out their lawful responsibilities, noting that
accountability applies to both law enforcement personnel and members of the
public.
“When we know that what we are doing is the right thing, we
shouldn’t entertain any fears of anybody recording us. You can record us. We
can record you as well. It’s on both sides. So we are not entertaining anybody.
“Anybody can record any police officer at his duty post. In
as much as the police officer is doing the right thing, he has nothing to fear
about recording. So yeah, anybody can record us while we are carrying out our
lawful duty,” he said.
The police chief reiterated that operatives have been
expressly warned against inspecting mobile phones during stop-and-search
operations, insisting that their focus should remain on vehicles and related
security checks.
He stated: “Our men have been warned not to search any phone
from any individual. We are there to search the vehicles.”
Fatai explained that such checks are mainly aimed at
verifying occupants of vehicles to ensure they are legitimate passengers and
not victims or accomplices of criminal activity.
“We are there to know who and who is inside the vehicle and
to be assured that the people have boarded the right vehicle and not the
vehicles of these hoodlums who will take them to destinations where they are
not supposed to be,” he added.
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