By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Nigeria Police Force has clarified that Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, is not opposed to citizens recording police officers, stressing that his concern is the misuse of such recordings.
The Force’s New Media Officer, Aliyu Giwa, gave the clarification in a series of posts on X on Saturday,12 September, 2026 following controversy over the IGP’s recent comments on Nigerians filming police officers.
Giwa said Disu’s position had been misinterpreted, stressing that the Force was not seeking to shield officers from accountability or deny citizens their rights.
The controversy traced back to a March 17 judgment of the Federal High Court in Warri, Delta State, which affirmed Nigerians’ right to record police officers while on duty.
Against this backdrop, the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) paid a courtesy visit to Disu at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, where the matter was discussed.
During the visit, Disu expressed concern over Nigerians filming police officers, particularly for social media skits, describing the practice as “very, very demoralising” for members of the Force. He, however, acknowledged citizens’ right to record officers in the course of their duties.
“We are not saying they cannot exercise their rights of recording officers in the public places while doing their jobs,” Disu said, adding, “But they should put restraints and not turn our police officers to content for their skits or anything.”
The comments sparked criticism from lawyers, human rights groups and other Nigerians, some of whom insisted that citizens had a constitutional right to document officers on duty. NBA President, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, also said a distinction should be drawn between legitimate recording of police activities and intrusion into officers’ private lives.
Reacting to the backlash on Saturday, Giwa said the IGP’s concern was not to shield officers from accountability or deny citizens their rights, but centred on the misuse of recordings, particularly when officers are provoked, ridiculed, filmed for entertainment or subjected to unnecessary intrusion while on duty.
He drew a distinction between responsible documentation and the deliberate exploitation of police encounters for social media content.
Giwa noted that legitimate recordings could serve both citizens and police, explaining that evidence was essential when an officer acted improperly, just as responsible recording could protect officers from false allegations and support investigations. He maintained, however, that wearing the uniform did not strip an officer of the right to dignity or privacy.
Responding to an X user who argued that police should equip officers with body cameras if opposed to being recorded, Giwa said the IGP had not rejected the practice generally.
“The message from the IGP was concerning the misuse of recordings, not a general rejection of legitimate documentation or accountability,” he said, confirming that body cameras were part of ongoing discussions on accountable policing, as they could protect both citizens and officers.
Giwa urged Nigerians to engage on the issue without resorting to insults, noting that the police and citizens ultimately shared the same objective. “The police need to be accountable and citizens should exercise their rights in a responsible way. We can have that discussion without using insults. The end aim is the same: a more professional Police Force and a safer Nigeria,” he said.
He also rejected framing the matter as a confrontation between the police and the public, or between Disu and the NBA, insisting the conversation should instead focus on balancing accountability with responsibility, transparency with privacy, and citizens’ rights with the professional discharge of police duties.
Giwa added that the engagement between the IGP and the NBA leadership showed that strong institutions could disagree while still engaging constructively.
“In the digital age, the solution is not to fear the camera. Instead, we should use technology responsibly, uphold professionalism, and let truth, rather than social media narratives, define the conversation,” he said, adding that neither the camera nor legitimate scrutiny should weaken any institution, as both must ultimately serve truth, justice and the Nigerian people.
