Legal practitioner and human rights activist, Inibehe Effiong, has challenged the warning by the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, against Nigerians recording police officers while on duty for social media content.
Effiong argued that the Nigeria Police Force could itself be regarded as a content-creating institution, pointing to the various platforms operated by the force to produce and circulate information.
The lawyer spoke on Friday during an interview on Channels Television while reacting to Disu’s warning that filming policemen for skits was “very, very demoralising” to members of the force.
Disu had clarified that his concern was not about citizens recording police officers but about the use of policemen as subjects for social media content.
However, Effiong questioned the meaning of content creation and whether it was defined by financial gain or public enlightenment.
He said, “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?”
Effiong said the broad interpretation of content creation meant that the police could also fall within the category, given its use of social media platforms, its website and police radio to disseminate information.
“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 added, “The reason is that the police owns and operates different platforms through which contents are created and disseminated, including the police social media handles, the website of the police, and other platforms, and even the police radio.”
The human rights lawyer called for clarity on the specific activities targeted by the IGP’s warning, particularly whether it was aimed at skit makers, entertainers and pranksters who produce humorous online content as a 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.
Effiong also questioned the police’s concerns about citizens recording officers while performing their duties in public, asking why the issue had become a recurring concern for the force.
“The question is, why is the police constantly fidgeting over the recording of their officers in the course of their duties?” he asked.
He was also unconvinced by Disu’s example of police officers being filmed while eating, saying he had not seen evidence that such incidents were widespread 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.
Effiong urged the police to provide examples of the incidents referenced by the IGP, saying, “So I would be happy if the police can cite some instances to portray the fact that the IG has referenced.”
The lawyer maintained that Nigerians were constitutionally entitled to record law enforcement officers while they carried out their statutory duties in public.
“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 cited Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, arguing that the provision covers the dissemination and propagation of ideas and information.
“That freedom includes the freedom to disseminate and propagate ideas and information,” he said.
He further argued that the protection extended to the means used to disseminate information, including mobile phones and other electronic devices.
“Within the current constitutional framework, the right of the Nigerian people, the right of every person to record officers in public places usually, while exercising public responsibilities is important,” he said.
