Human rights lawyer, Tope Temokun, has criticised the directive issued by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, banning staff of the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) and the Department of Land Administration, specifically officers on Grade Level 14 and below, from entering their offices with mobile phones.
Temokun described the order as “embarrassing, discriminatory, and an assault on democratic values, labour rights, and constitutional freedoms.”
The directive, which emerged 24 hours after a viral video showed Wike in an altercation with a naval officer at a disputed property site in Abuja, was allegedly prompted by the circulation of the footage among AGIS staff. Temokun argued that the timing exposes the ban as a “punitive reaction born of executive anger, not policy reasoning.”
According to him, governance within a democracy must be driven by law and restraint, not the temperament of public officeholders. He warned that a minister seeking to regulate the personal communication rights of civil servants risks behaving like a “maximum ruler” who demands accountability from others but avoids scrutiny.
Temokun stressed that the ban contradicts constitutional guarantees, citing Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which protects freedom of expression, including the right to receive and impart information.
He added that Section 37, which safeguards citizens’ privacy, is also violated when workers are denied access to their personal communication devices without legal backing.
“No ministerial circular or internal memo can override the Constitution,” he said, insisting that executive directives cannot supersede established law.
From a labour rights perspective, Temokun argued that the policy breaches the principles of fair labour practices under Section 254C(1)(f) of the Constitution and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.
He said the selective application of the rule to certain grade levels amounts to discrimination and “psychological coercion intended to instil fear rather than discipline.”
He warned that banning mobile phones in public offices threatens transparency, as these devices facilitate both work and reportage. Such a policy, he noted, risks promoting secrecy in public administration, thereby enabling corruption, abuse of power, and impunity.
Temokun called on the FCT Administration to immediately withdraw what he termed an “ill-conceived directive.”
He urged the National Human Rights Commission, Nigeria Labour Congress, and civil society groups to challenge the measure before it becomes a precedent for repression across ministries and agencies.
“These men who control power but cannot control temper must know or be forced to know that personal anger cannot be made the source of law,” he said.
