Nigerians have received a call to report any police officer who requests to search their phones, as such actions are deemed unprofessional. The appeal was made by ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, in response to a video circulating on X (formerly Twitter) showing police officers searching a passenger’s phone.
The video, initially posted by a user with the handle @tadeosun074, depicted a police officer searching through the phone of a young male passenger. In the video, the officer expressed frustration, saying in Pidgin English, “Me that has been working for over 13 years now, this year will make me 14 years in service, I have never had money to buy N250,000 phone, it is N15,000 phone I’m using.” The officer then instructed the young man to disembark from the commercial bus and retrieve his bag.
In response to the video, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi stated, “Searching through people’s phones is unprofessional, so any officer caught doing that should be reported to the authorities for disciplinary action.” He further urged citizens to provide specific details when reporting such incidents, including location, date, and time, to facilitate investigations.
Another user, @KJexty, shared a similar experience, revealing that he had been a victim of such an incident, particularly along the Okpella, Edo state, and Okene, Kogi state, roads when traveling to Abuja. He disclosed paying a sum of 100,000 Naira to resolve the situation.
In response to @KJexty’s account, the Force PRO assured, “We will continue to go after the erring policemen who are bent on tarnishing the image of the force. Checking people’s phones on the road is not proper. In fact, it’s highly unprofessional. I am sure you know we have reacted and condemned it severely. So, report them to us, and we will take such cases up.”
The call to report unprofessional conduct by police officers underscores the importance of accountability and transparency in law enforcement and aims to address concerns regarding violations of citizens’ privacy rights.
