No more checking of citizens’ phones by the police – IGP Adamu

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered police officers to stop checking citizens’ phones.

For many years, men of the Nigerian Police especially the F-SARS insists on searching phones of Nigerians youths at checkpoints or any location.

During such encounters at roadblocks or patrols, policemen, in most cases, forcefully snatch phones belonging to innocent citizens and unlawfully go through them They go through emails, social media pages and direct message, just to find incriminating evidence, best known to them.

The victim is then “billed” any amount to secure the release of the gadget. Any claim of right or refusal to pay could lead to severe beating, seizure of the phone – or both.

A number of Nigerians have also complained of how police teams forced them to log into their bank accounts to view the balance.

But Adamu, at a press briefing on Wednesday, announced that such an era is gone.

“The issue of any Police unit going to look into people’s phones, which is supposed to be their private property, or looking at the type of vehicle they‘re using, or profiling them to see whether they‘re yahoo boys or not. That era is gone. It is not acceptable”, the IGP said.