Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, and President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, have disagreed over citizens recording police officers while carrying out their duties.
The disagreement arose during a meeting between Disu and Badejo-Okunsanya in Abuja on Wednesday, following a Federal High Court judgment affirming citizens’ right to film police officers performing their duties in public.
Disu said the widespread use of phones to record police officers had become embarrassing and demoralising for members of the force, particularly when officers are filmed outside operational situations.
“Some even went to restaurants to start recording police officers, while eating,” the IGP said.
He acknowledged that citizens have the right to record officers in public while they are performing their duties but called for restraint in how such recordings are made.
“We are not saying they cannot exercise their rights of recording officers in the public places while doing their jobs,” Disu said.
“But they should put restraints and not turn police officers into content for their skits or anything.”
The IGP also highlighted the conditions under which some officers work, particularly at checkpoints and other security 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, middle of nowhere,” he said.
“And these officers will stay there morning and night to do their job, to keep other people safe.”
However, Badejo-Okunsanya defended the right of citizens to record police officers during lawful public duties, arguing that transparency should remain a key part of policing.
“We should not be afraid of being transparent in the lawful execution of our duties,” the NBA President said.
She pointed to the use of body cameras by police officers in the United States as an example of how recording can promote accountability.
“When the U.S. 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 reporting it,” she said.
Badejo-Okunsanya said the focus should be on establishing clear limits around recording rather than restricting the practice altogether.
She also called for stronger rules to address situations where recording could infringe on privacy or be abused.
She said the police and legal profession should work together to establish appropriate boundaries around citizens’ rights to record officers.
The exchange comes amid continuing public debate over police accountability and the balance between citizens’ rights and officers’ privacy while performing official duties.
Ademide Adebayo
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