The Assistant Inspector General, AIG, of Police, Zone 6, AIG Kamaldeen Kola Okunlola has disclosed that filming police personnel while performing their duties was not a crime, but legal and within the rights of citizens.
Okulola disclosed at the Cross River State Police Command Headquarters during a familiarisation visit on Thursday in Diamond Hill, Calabar.
He punctured the usual belief that a citizen video recording a police officer while on duty has committed any crime, adding that every Nigerian has the right to film any police personnel on duty stressing that it was within their rights in the law.
The AIG cautioned police officers to desist from the act of stopping a citizen from recording them while performing their duty adding that it was not a crime at all.
He called on officers to be more humane, and friendly with their neighbours, the citizenry they protect instead and avoid harassing them in any form. “We must be humane and close to the public, and not when you want to extort money you turn to a tyrant and oppress innocent citizens all that must stop! You must treat people right because you are there for them.”
