The Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu has cautioned Nigerians against recording police officers for skits and social media content, describing the practice as “very, very demoralizing” for members of the force.
Disu spoke in Abuja during a meeting with Nigerian Bar Association President Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya and members of the NBA executive committee. The meeting focused on improving relations between lawyers and the police.
The police chief said the practice became a concern within the force following a recent court judgment affirming citizens’ right to record police officers performing their duties in public.
“The recent judgment on recording of police officers, that one really jolted our officers. And it became something of concern to us because the citizens started coming out with their phones to record police officers everywhere they saw them,” Disu said.
He said some Nigerians had taken the practice beyond police operations, with officers sometimes being recorded in places such as restaurants.
“Everywhere you see a policeman, you start recording a policeman. So this is something that was very, very demoralizing to us,” he said.
Disu, however, acknowledged that citizens have the right to record police officers carrying out their duties in public.
“We are not saying they cannot exercise their rights of recording officers in public places while doing their jobs,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to exercise restraint and use the right responsibly.
“But they should put restraints and not turn our police officers into content for their skits or anything,” he added.
The IGP also highlighted the difficult conditions under which some officers work, particularly those deployed to checkpoints, highways and isolated areas.
The comments followed a March 17, 2026, judgment by the Federal High Court in Warri, Delta State, which affirmed the constitutional right of Nigerians to record police officers performing public duties.
Justice H. A. Nganjiwa delivered the judgment in suit number FHC/WR/CS/87/2025.
The court held that officers must not harass, intimidate or arrest citizens, or seize their devices, solely for recording police activities in public.
At the meeting, Badejo-Okusanya said there should be a clear distinction between recording police activities for accountability and invading officers’ privacy.
“Policemen sitting down somewhere eating and people are recording them and intruding on their privacy,” she said.
However, she stressed that transparency in the lawful execution of police duties should not be compromised.
She cited the use of body cameras by police officers in the United States as an example of how recording can promote accountability.
“When the US introduced body cams for police officers, it was to promote that so that you yourself, you have a check, you know that whatever you’re doing, you have a body camera that is recording it,” she said.
Badejo-Okusanya said clearer boundaries were needed to protect both citizens’ right to document police activities and officers’ privacy.
The discussion highlights the need to balance public accountability with responsible use of recordings, particularly as social media continues to shape how Nigerians document and share encounters with law enforcement.
