The Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu has raised concern over the growing practice of individuals using their phones to record police officers, claiming that the tendency has become “very, very demoralizing” for personnel.
Disu spoke in Abuja with Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, president of the Nigerian Bar Association, and members of the NBA executive committee, according to a video released by TV Platinum on Wednesday. The conference was part of an effort to avert future conflicts between lawyers and police personnel.
The IG stated that a recent decision on the recording of police officers had caused worry within the force, noting that individuals had since begun recording policemen in various areas.
“The recent judgement on the recording of police officers really jolted our officers. And it became something of concern to us because the citizens started coming out with their phones to record police officers everywhere they saw them,” Disu said.
He claimed that the practice has spread beyond police operations in public places, with some people going to restaurants to record policemen.
“Everywhere you see a police man, start recording a police man. So this is something that was very, very demoralizing to us,” the IGP said.
Disu accepted that civilians had the right to record police officers executing their responsibilities in public but recommended caution in how such recordings were made and used.
“We are not saying they cannot exercise their rights of recording officers in the public places while doing their jobs,” he said.
“But they should put restraints and not turn our police officers to content for their skits or anything,” he added.
The police boss also highlighted the difficult conditions under which officers operate, particularly those deployed to checkpoints and isolated locations.
“If you look at where we have our officers on checking points, there are dangerous areas thick in the forest, thick in the bushes, on the highways, and in the middle of nowhere,” Disu said, adding that officers often remained in such locations “morning and night” to protect the public.
Speaking on the concern, Badejo-Okusanya said there was a need to distinguish between legitimate recording of police activities and intrusion into officers’ privacy.
“Policemen sitting down somewhere eating, and people are recording them and intruding on their privacy,” she said, stressing the importance of considering the issue from the officers’ perspective.
However, the NBA president stated that transparency in the proper execution of police tasks should not be compromised.
“We should not be afraid of being transparent in the lawful execution of our duties,” Badejo-Okusanya said.
She used the adoption of body cameras for police officers in the United States as an example of how recording may increase accountability.
“When the US introduced body cams for police officers, it was in order to promote that so that you yourself, you have a check, you know that whatever you’re doing, you have a body camera that is recording it,” she explained.
According to her, such methods could assist in strengthening accountability and guarantee that police who commit wrongdoing are identified and sanctioned.
Badejo-Okusanya stated that the solution was not to completely avoid recording but to provide clearer limits between privacy and legitimate recording of police personnel.
“We just need to understand the limits,” she said, adding that existing laws could be strengthened or interpreted to prevent abuse of the privilege to record.
She stated that lawyers and police officers should work together because both were “partners in the same quest to ensure that we have a safe and vibrant society that respects the rule of law.”
