Police officers have been told that they are not permitted to search the phones of any Nigerian.
This directive was issued by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fayoade Adegoke, who said the Police Force had a cyber section responsible for that, adding that if a police officer suspected anything, they would take the person to the station so the phone could be searched.
This was disclosed in a Sunday statement by the management of Melody FM, 107.7FM, signed by Kunle Babarinde, who stated the CP gave the directive when he visited the radio station at Iyana-Ipaja on Wednesday.
Kayode after commending the radio station for its efforts to provide the public with information, affirmed that bail was unrestricted while urging the public to expose corrupt police officers.
The statement quoted the CP as saying, “If you feel you have been cheated by a policeman or a policeman engaged in corruption, kindly report the policeman to his DPO. If the DPO is not forthcoming, report to the Area Commander. I believe your case will be solved but if you still feel cheated, please report to me directly. My phone number is open to all Lagosians.”
The CP also said, “No policeman has the right to beat citizens. You, the people, are the government’s employers; your taxes support us. Thus, we have to treat you with the appropriate decency.”
“On the issue of searching phones, no policeman has the right to search your phone. If a policeman suspects anything on your phone, he will take you to the station to search the phone. We have a cyber department that deals with all that,” he added.
