The Federal High Court sitting in Warri has delivered a landmark judgment affirming that citizens have the constitutional right to record police officers while they perform their duties in public. In a ruling handed down in suit No. FHC/WR/CS/87/2025, Justice H. A. Nganjiwa held that the act of photographing or filming law enforcement officers in public spaces is protected by the constitution and cannot lawfully give rise to harassment, detention, or the confiscation of recording devices. The decision was framed as a public-interest enforcement of fundamental rights and is intended to strengthen civilian oversight of policing in Nigeria.
Central to the judgment was the court’s directive that police officers must be readily identifiable when carrying out stop‑and‑searches or other public duties. The court ordered that officers should wear visible name tags and display their force numbers so members of the public can know who is responsible for any action taken. The ruling explicitly condemned routine stop‑and‑search practices conducted without proper identification, finding that such anonymity undermines accountability and the rule of law and can lead to unlawful infringements of individual liberties.
In awarding remedies, the court granted all the reliefs sought by the applicant, Maxwell Uwaifo. Uwaifo was awarded N5 million in damages for the violation of his fundamental rights, plus N2 million to cover the cost of litigation. The judgment also set out prohibitions against police harassment, intimidation, arrest, or seizure of devices from people recording officers in public, thereby creating clear legal protections for citizens who document police conduct and establishing a basis for further enforcement where these protections are breached.
The suit named the Nigeria Police Force, the Police Service Commission, the Inspector‑General of Police and the Attorney‑General of the Federation as respondents and relied on multiple provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Observers and civil liberties advocates have described the ruling as far‑reaching, saying it could prompt reforms in policing practices and improve public confidence in law enforcement by making encounters more transparent. The judgment therefore represents both a legal victory for individual rights and a potential catalyst for institutional change in how policing is conducted and overseen across Nigeria.
