Court Declares It Legal to Record Police Officers on Duty

• A Federal High Court in Warri has affirmed the right of Nigerians to record police officers in public, awarding ₦7 million in damages and reinforcing accountability within the force.

The Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State, has ruled that Nigerians have the constitutional right to record police officers performing their duties in public.

VerseNews reports that Justice H. A. Nganjiwa delivered the judgment on Tuesday in a suit marked FHC/WR/CS/87/2025, declaring that police officers must not harass, intimidate, arrest, or confiscate devices from citizens who record their activities.

The court also directed that officers must wear visible name tags and display their force numbers during operations, particularly in public engagements such as patrols and stop-and-search duties.

The suit was filed by Maxwell Uwaifo as a public interest litigation, challenging the legality of police operations carried out without proper identification. The respondents included the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, the Police Service Commission, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

VerseNews reports that the court awarded Uwaifo ₦5 million in damages for the violation of his fundamental rights and an additional ₦2 million to cover litigation costs, granting all the reliefs sought in the suit.

In his argument, the applicant maintained that citizens have the constitutional right under Section 39 to freely express themselves, including recording and publishing matters of public interest such as police conduct.

The court agreed, ruling that any attempt by police officers to prevent or punish citizens for recording them—through threats, harassment, or seizure of devices—is unlawful and unconstitutional.

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The case stemmed from multiple incidents in which the applicant was allegedly stopped by officers operating without proper identification and was threatened for attempting to record their actions.

The judgment is considered a significant development for civil liberties and police accountability in Nigeria, especially amid longstanding concerns over misconduct during stop-and-search operations.

It also reinforces existing positions by the Nigeria Police Force, which had previously stated that recording officers on duty is not an offence, while warning that any form of harassment against citizens who do so constitutes misconduct.

The ruling is expected to set a strong precedent for policing standards and the protection of citizens’ rights across the country.