Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Tijani Fatai, has barred officers from 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 commissioner 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.
