‘Don’t allow it,’ FCT Police commissioner urges residents to resist unauthorised phone searches
The Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ahmed Sanusi, has advised residents to resist attempts by police officers to search their mobile phones during routine stop-and-search operations.
Sanusi made the call during a press briefing in Abuja, where he said phone searches by police officers and personnel from other security agencies were contrary to the directive of the Inspector-General of Police.
According to him, officers are not authorised to stop people on the road and demand access to their phones simply because they suspect them of internet fraud or other criminal activities.
The commissioner said the directive followed complaints about abuse of power and extortion involving some security personnel.
He stressed that all police officers are expected to strictly comply with the IGP’s instructions.
“It has been clearly stated that, of course, due to the abuse and extortion tendencies of some officers and men of not only the police but even other sister agencies,” Sanusi said.
“It has been instructed that nobody should search any phone, especially when you just arrest somebody on the road, and you say bring your phone, and you start searching because you are suspecting the person to be Yahoo Yahoo.
“This does not negate the fact that phones are also being used to commit crime.”
Sanusi explained that officers cannot legally demand access to a person’s phone during a roadside encounter without following due process.
He therefore urged FCT residents not to hand over their phones when officers attempt to search them during routine stops.
The commissioner also advised members of the public to seek assistance from people nearby and contact police emergency or complaint lines so that the officers involved can be properly identified and questioned.
“But of course, before such a thing can happen, the person must have committed a crime, must have been properly arrested, and brought to the station,” he said.
“Then, when trying to uncover some evidence, you can now start searching to see whether your phone or other items are being used to commit or perpetrate such a crime.
“But for you to just stop anybody on the road and say bring your phone; let me search. You have some amount on your phone.
“That’s why, if any policeman stops you on the road according to the instructions of the inspector-general of police, which we are bound to obey to the last of it, don’t agree.
“Don’t open your phones; resist. Ask the nearby people to help you call the police hotline, emergency line.”
He added that residents in other parts of the country should report similar incidents to the commissioner of police in their respective state commands.