A Federal High Court in Delta State has ruled that Nigerians have the right to record police officers during stop-and-search operations in public spaces. The judgment was delivered on Tuesday by Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa.
The ruling followed a fundamental rights suit filed by lawyer Maxwell Nosakhare Uwaifo, who challenged the legality of officers operating without visible identification and preventing citizens from recording them.
The court held that police officers must wear uniforms displaying their names and force numbers during public duties, and declared anonymous policing unconstitutional. It also ruled that officers cannot harass, intimidate, arrest, or seize devices from citizens for recording their activities.
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The court awarded Uwaifo 5,000,000 naira in damages for rights violations and 2,000,000 naira 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 defendants.
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