A Federal High Court sitting in Delta State has ruled that Nigerians can record police officers during stop-and-search operations in public spaces.
Presiding judge, Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, made the ruling on Tuesday, following an enforcement of the fundamental rights suit filed bya lawyer, Maxwell Nosakhare Uwaifo.
The petitioner also sought judicial pronouncement on the constitutionality of police officers conducting stop-and-search operations without visible name tags and force numbers — and the right of citizens to record them.
Other defendants are the inspector-general of police, Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Police Service Commission (PSC), and attorney-general of the federation (AGF).
In a statement sent to TheCable, Uwaifo said the judge made “far-reaching pronouncements on police accountability and citizens’ constitutional rights”.
The lawyer said the judge ruled that “anonymous policing is unconstitutional”.
The lawyer told the court that he filed the suit because of his encounter with police officers along the Sapele roundabout as he journeyed from Benin to Warri on May 10, 2025.
The lawyer said the operatives flagged him down and began to question him in an aggressive manner.
Uwaifo said when he noticed the behaviour of the officers, which evinced extortion or harassment, he brought out his phone to record.
“Immediately I brought out my phone, one of the men, dressed in black and appearing to be a police officer, threatened to arrest me and demanded that I put my phone away,” the lawyer said.
