The right of Nigerians to record police officers performing their duties has become a point of disagreement between lawyer Inibehe Effiong and Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu.
Effiong said on Friday that citizens can record police and other law enforcement officers in public when they are carrying out their official responsibilities.
He spoke during an interview on Channels Television after Disu warned Nigerians against recording police officers for social media skits.
The IGP said using policemen in such content can be demoralising to members of the force.
Disu, however, said his position was not against citizens recording police officers. His concern, he explained, was the use of policemen as material for social media content.
Effiong said that distinction needed to be made clear because people record and share information for different reasons.
Questioning what counts as content creation
The lawyer questioned whether the problem was recording police officers or using such recordings to make money online.
“What is content creation? Is it materials generated and disseminated or published or circulated for revenue generation? Or is it simply posting information for public enlightenment?
“What is the determining factor? Is it the quest for financial gain or public enlightenment? And who is the content creator?”
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Effiong said the police itself produces and shares information through several platforms.
He cited the police social media handles, its website and police radio as examples of platforms operated by the force.
“Because if you examine the phrase content creator and content creation broadly, one can say that even the police itself is a content-creating institution,” he said.
He said this made it necessary to understand exactly what Disu meant when he referred to police officers being used for content creation.
Effiong asked whether the warning was directed at skit makers, entertainers and pranksters who make humorous online material as a career or source of income.
“So when the IG speaks about using policemen for content creation, it is important for us to be cautious. Is it referring to skit makers, entertainers or pranksters who are individuals who make a career or make a living from making comical contents and reproducing them online to generate traffic as a source of living?” he asked.
The lawyer also questioned the police’s concern about people recording officers during their duties.
“The question is, why is the police constantly fidgeting over the recording of their officers in the course of their duties?” he asked.
Constitution protects recording, lawyer says
Disu had cited an example of police officers being filmed while eating when explaining his concern about the practice.
Effiong said he had not seen evidence that such incidents were common on social media.
“He cited an instance where he said police officers would be eating and people would be filming them. I haven’t seen that being a practice that is rampant on social media,” he said.
He asked the police to provide examples that could support the concern raised by the IGP.
“So I would be happy if the police can cite some instances to portray the fact that the IG has referenced,” Effiong said.
The lawyer said the right to record in public was not limited to police officers.
“But speaking generally, Nigerians have the right, unmistakably, to record incidents. Not just the police, but law enforcement officers generally, in the course of discharging their statutory responsibility,” he said.
Effiong based his position on Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.
“That freedom includes the freedom to disseminate and propagate ideas and information,” he said.
He insisted that the constitutional protection covers the means through which information is shared.
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