A Federal High Court in Delta State has affirmed the constitutional right of Nigerians to record police officers during stop-and-search operations conducted in public spaces.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa ruled in favour of a lawyer, Maxwell Nosakhare Uwaifo, who filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit challenging certain police practices.
The case sought clarity on the legality of officers operating without visible identification, such as name tags and force numbers, and whether citizens are permitted to document such encounters.
According to the applicant, the court made significant pronouncements reinforcing police accountability and the protection of citizens’ rights, declaring that anonymous policing is unconstitutional.
The court held that officers must display proper identification during public operations and that members of the public are legally entitled to record law enforcement activities in open spaces.
It further ruled that it is unlawful for police personnel to harass, intimidate, arrest, or confiscate devices from individuals for recording them while carrying out their duties.
The suit stemmed from an incident on May 10, 2025, when Uwaifo was stopped by officers at Sapele Roundabout while travelling from Benin to Warri. He alleged that the officers acted aggressively and attempted to prevent him from recording the encounter.
He told the court that the officers lacked proper identification and operated an unmarked black Toyota Sienna without registration details or police markings.
Uwaifo said the situation created a hostile environment that made him fear possible arrest or assault, forcing him to comply with the officers’ demands and abandon his attempt to document the incident.
In his reliefs, the lawyer asked the court to affirm that Nigerians have the right under Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution to record law enforcement officers in public and to restrain police from operating without proper identification or interfering with such recordings.
In its ruling, the court awarded ₦5 million in damages for the violation of his fundamental rights, alongside ₦2 million as litigation costs.
The Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, the Police Service Commission, and the Attorney-General of the Federation were listed as respondents in the case. While the police did not appear in court, the Attorney-General was represented by Babatunde Ajajogun and D.O. Tarfa.
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