Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
The Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory, Ahmed Sanusi, has advised residents, particularly young people, not to allow police officers to search their mobile phones during stop-and-search operations, stressing that such actions contravene the directive of the Inspector-General of Police.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Sanusi said officers are not permitted to randomly demand access to members of the public’s phones, noting that the directive was introduced to curb abuses and extortion.
“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,” he said.
Sanusi explained that while mobile phones can be relevant in criminal investigations, they should only be examined after a suspect has been lawfully arrested and taken to a police station.
“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 cautioned officers against stopping individuals on the road and demanding access to their devices based on suspicion alone.
“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, fon’t agree. Don’t open your phones. Resist,” Sanusi said.
The police commissioner urged residents confronted by officers demanding to search their phones to contact the police emergency line or seek assistance from nearby officers.
“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.
Reaffirming the command’s commitment to the Inspector-General’s directive, Sanusi warned that officers found violating the order would face disciplinary measures.
“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. If we get them, they will face disciplinary actions and will be made to face the consequences,” he added.
