Court affirms Nigerians’ right to record police officers in public, says anonymous policing is unconstitutional – THISAGE

By Ayo Kehinde

The Federal High Court of Nigeria, sitting in Warri, said Nigerians have the constitutional right to record police officers carrying out their duties in public.

Declares that no law prohibits citizens from filming law enforcement personnel during public operations.

Delivering judgment in case number FHC/WR/CS/87/2025 on Tuesday, Justice HA Nganjiwa said attempts by security officers to stop, harass or intimidate individuals for recording their activities constituted a violation of fundamental rights.

The court ruled that Nigeria Police Force officers must not arrest, threaten or confiscate devices from citizens who lawfully document police actions.

It also mandated that all officers must wear clearly visible name tags and display their force numbers, particularly during stop and search operations and at checkpoints.

In the lawsuit filed by Maxwell Nosakhare Uwaifo, the court awarded $5 million in damages for the violation of his fundamental rights and another $2 million in legal fees, bringing the total compensation to $7 million.

Uwaifo had initiated the case as a public interest litigation against the Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, the Police Service Commission and the Attorney General of the Federation, challenging the legality of stop and search operations conducted by officers who did not identify themselves.

He argued that police officers’ efforts to prevent citizens from filming – through threats, harassment or seizure of devices – violate Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.

He also called for a perpetual injunction preventing law enforcement agencies from arresting or intimidating Nigerians who record police activities in public.

Justice Nganjiwa granted all the relief requested, stressing that “anonymous policing”, in which officers operate without proper identification or mufti, is unconstitutional and promotes impunity.

Reacting to the ruling, Uwaifo described it as “far-reaching”, stressing that it strengthens transparency, civil liberties and accountability in policing.

Court documents showed that the case arose from repeated encounters in which officers allegedly obstructed, threatened and attempted to intimidate the appellant and others for recording public policing activities, including a May 2025 incident along the Benin-Warri axis.

The ruling comes amid persistent public concern over police misconduct, particularly during stop-and-search operations, issues that have attracted national attention following abuses linked to the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, which sparked the nationwide #EndSARS protests.

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