A civil society organisation has waded into the growing national debate over citizens filming police officers on duty, insisting that the practice remains a legitimate accountability tool and should not be discouraged under the guise of protecting police morale.
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) issued a statement responding to recent remarks by Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu, who had acknowledged the public’s right to record officers but warned that indiscriminate filming, particularly when clips are turned into social media content or “skits” could embarrass and demoralise personnel.
The IGP’s comments came after a Federal High Court ruling affirmed citizens’ right to record police carrying out stop-and-search operations in public.
In its response, RULAAC distinguished two very different kinds of recording: filming officers performing official duties in public for evidence, personal protection, or accountability versus deliberately targeting officers in private or off-duty moments to mock or harass them.
The group said citizens should exercise their right to record responsibly, avoiding obstruction of police operations, provocation of officers, interference with arrests or investigations, or unjustified intrusion into officers’ private lives.
However, it cautioned that such caveats “must never be transformed into a vague doctrine of ‘restraint'” that discourages citizens from documenting police conduct in public spaces.
RULAAC argued that citizen recordings have proven essential to Nigeria’s accountability landscape, noting that many allegations of extortion at checkpoints, assault, unlawful arrest and brutality would be difficult to prove without photos, audio or video evidence gathered by victims, witnesses or bystanders.
The organisation also framed recording as a tool that cuts both ways, capable of substantiating misconduct claims against an officer, or clearing an officer wrongly accused, given the unequal power dynamic between an armed state official and an ordinary citizen.
While acknowledging the difficult conditions many Nigerian police officers work under long hours, dangerous postings, and inadequate welfare and equipment RULAAC said the appropriate remedy for low morale lies in improved welfare, training, equipment, insurance, housing and promotion systems, not in reduced public scrutiny.
The group’s Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, echoed comments from Nigerian Bar Association President Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, who had said transparency in the lawful execution of police duties should not be feared, pointing to body-worn cameras as a workable accountability mechanism.
RULAAC used the moment to renew calls for the Nigeria Police Force to adopt body-worn cameras and other technology-based accountability systems, arguing that a properly regulated framework would protect officers from fabricated allegations while also capturing evidence of genuine misconduct.
The group urged the IGP to fast-track a national framework governing camera activation, footage preservation, access, privacy, evidential use, and penalties for officers who disable or tamper with recording devices.
It further called on police leadership to issue clear operational guidance nationwide, stating that citizens should not be arrested, assaulted, threatened, have phones seized, or be forced to delete footage simply for recording officers performing official duties in public.
Where recording genuinely obstructs an operation or breaches a specific law, RULAAC said officers should act within legal bounds rather than treating the presence of a camera itself as an offence.
RULAAC summarised its position in stark terms: recording police performing public duties is acceptable; obstructing police operations is not.
Documenting misconduct or an encounter for evidence is legitimate; harassing or ridiculing officers’ private lives for social media entertainment is not.
The group maintained that public trust in the police will grow not from fewer cameras, but from officers who know professionalism will protect them regardless of being filmed, and citizens who know that lawfully recording police in public will not expose them to arrest or retaliation.
