The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ahmed Sanusi, has told residents, particularly youths, that no police officer has the right to search their mobile phones during stop-and-search operations.
The FCT police commissioner urged the residents to resist any attempts by police officers to search their phones, saying such actions violate the directive of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
Sanusi stated this during a press conference shared by News Central Television on Tuesday, July 21, reiterating that officers are prohibited from randomly searching the phones of members of the public.
He explained that the act was prohibited because police officers often exploited it to extort citizens.
Sanusi added that although mobile phones could serve as evidence in criminal investigations, they should only be examined after a suspect had been lawfully arrested and taken to a police station.
“The issue of phone searching has been clearly stated. Due to the abuse and extortion tendencies of some officers and men, not only of the police but even other sister agencies, it has been instructed that nobody should search any phone.
“This does not negate the fact that phones are also being used to commit crime. But before such a thing can happen, the person must have committed the crime, must have been properly arrested and brought to the station. Then, when trying to uncover some evidence, you can now start searching to see whether the phone or other items have been used to commit or perpetrate such crime,” he said.
He stressed that officers should not stop people on the road and demand access to their phones merely because they suspect them of internet fraud or any other offence.
“But for you to just stop anybody on the road and say, ‘Bring your phone, let me search. Or, you have so and so amount on your phone’—any policeman who stops you on the road, according to the instructions of the Inspector-General of Police, we are bound to obey to the last of it. Don’t agree. Don’t open your phones. Resist,” Sanusi said.
ALSO READ: Four Abuja police officers detained over alleged N53,000 extortion of ICPC chairman
The police commissioner advised members of the public to seek help by contacting the police emergency line or nearby officers whenever they are confronted by police officers demanding to search their phones.
“Ask the nearby people to help you call the police emergency landline. You will see our men there, and then we will ask them why, provided they are within the FCT. If they are outside the FCT, then you will call your Command CP,” he said.
Sanusi reaffirmed the command’s commitment to enforcing the IGP’s directive and warned that any officer caught violating it would face disciplinary action.
“So I can tell you for free that we are still against that. We still stand against that. We will still enforce the IG’s directive. Some of them are on the attack because they are criminally minded. They want to perpetuate such acts. If we get them, they will face disciplinary actions and will be made to face the consequences,” he added.
