A legal firestorm has erupted over civilian oversight and public accountability as prominent Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) publicly countered Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu, insisting that citizens retain the absolute constitutional right to record police officers on duty in public spaces.
The pushback follows recent remarks by the IGP expressing deep concern over the growing trend of citizens filming law enforcement officers during operations, which he characterized as “very, very demoralising” for personnel.
However, leading legal minds—including Olu Daramola, SAN, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, and Isiaka Olagunju, SAN—swiftly dismantled the police chief’s position by pointing to a subsisting judgment delivered by Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court in the landmark case of Maxwell Uwaifor v. Inspector-General of Police.
- The Constitutional backing: Daramola emphasized that the court ruling aligns squarely with Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression and the right to impart and receive information. He noted that recording public officials carrying out state duties is entirely legal, provided citizens do not physically obstruct or interfere with lawful police operations.
- Beyond Transparency: The court order went a step further by explicitly prohibiting security operatives from seizing mobile phones or forcibly deleting footage captured by members of the public, while mandating officers to display clear name tags and force numbers.
- Weighing Evidence and Safety: While Ojo and Olagunju acknowledged potential safety concerns or the risk of footage being taken out of context, they maintained that documenting police encounters serves as a vital tool for evidence preservation, checking corruption, and holding erring personnel accountable.
As human rights organizations and civil society groups line up behind the legal community’s stance, the debate underscores the ongoing friction between institutional self-protection and the public’s demand for absolute transparency on Nigerian streets.
