I had an encounter with some policemen at Ikotun yesterday. I went to pick up my AliExpress package at the Ikotun post-office. I and another guy collected our packages and where leaving the post-office when this casually-dressed policeman called us, flashed his i.d card and demanded to see our packages. We told him we'd bought it online. He then took us to a corner and collected our phones. The guy's phone was dead. So the policeman handed it to his colleague to charge somewhere. He started searching through my own phone. Contacts. Text messages. Even the opera-mini. Probably my pictures too. And I kept wondering, ''Does the police have the right to search my phone like this?''

I asked him, ''What are you looking for?''
He arrogantly replied, ''I'll tell you when I find it.''
At one point, he even asked me ''You have gmail. What are you using it for? Business or what?''
I told him I use it to communicate.
He said "This things you bought. When una buy am, una receive alert from una bank abi?"
"Yes," we both answered.
"Show me the text."
I brought out my second phone from my back pocket and showed him the alert.
He was surprised to see my second phone and started searching through it.
While searching, he asked me what I do for a living, where my parents are, where I live, who I live with, what my friend who I live with does for a living and such questions. I answered his questions patiently wondering where the whole interrogation was heading to.
They asked me to leave the sun and sit down. I told them not to worry that I'm in a hurry. And that besides, my former job as an Airtel SIM sales and registration casual worker already made me not to feel the sun's heat.
He eventually asked his colleague to get the other guy's phone from where it was charging. And started searching through his phone too.
His uniformed colleague started telling us that this is the ''oracle of police''.

At another point during the whole encounter, I remember him poking at our front pockets and asking "Wetin be this?"
We brought out our wallets and handed him our i.d cards and atm cards.

I knew they were expecting us to be afraid and probably try to bribe them. But for what? Online shopping?
I told them I'm a law-abiding citizen and that a clear conscience fears no accusation.
They eventually handed us back our phones after delaying us for more than 30minutes.

When I told my friend at home about my encounter with them, he said I was lucky and warned me never to allow any officer search my phone without a warrant. That a criminal-minded officer could flash his already pre-arranged conspirator with my phone. After which, his conspirator would send an incriminating text message to my phone. E.g. ''Come back, let's go and cash the money. The Russian maga don pay'' or "The people wey we kidnap have paid the ransome. Return to base." He said he knew somebody that policemen did it to and the person had to eventually settle the fake case with N150,000. Imagine that!

Things are really happening in this country o!

So please I want to ask lawyers, human rights activists and other well-enlightened citizens out there:
DOES THE POLICE HAVE THE RIGHT TO SEARCH OUR PHONES WITHOUT A WARRANT? IS IT NOT A VIOLATION OF PRIVACY?

Meanwhile, I now understand why MTN was charged so heftily by the NCC. If all SIMs are properly registered, I don't think any criminal-minded policeman can successfully frame up an innocent citizen using the method my friend talked about.

I don't know cus Iam not a policeman Bt u fúcked up

u for gamble with u friend beat evil conot him bodi

Police don't have the right to check your phone. Their main work is to protect the people. Here in ago iwoye , the police work generally which is not meant to be. Imagine police after the management of WHY in ago here. O funny gan. They once check my phone to thinking am a G guy.

This is serious... Plz front page so that others can take note

dammywapes:
Police don't have the right to check your phone. Their main work is to protect the people. Here in ago iwoye , the police work generally which is not meant to be. Imagine police after the management of WHY in ago here. O funny gan. They once check my phone to thinking am a G guy.

ago police are d worst if dey should find ordinary yahoo messenger on ur sys u be g boy

with the amount of Yahoo bys out there, i can understand why the police will do such.... although it is unpleasant, it may catch a few criminals.
i think if the policeman was polite, it would go a long way.

Young03:
Bt u fúcked up u for gamble with u friend beat evil comot him bodi

Lol. You're not serious. I can't do that. How many policemen have you and your friends beaten beside their police station?

MRBrownJ:
with the amount of Yahoo boys out there, i can understand why the police will do such.... although it is unpleasant, it may catch a few criminals.
i think if the policeman was polite, it would go a long way.

Now, how do you identify a yahoo boy? Does having a foreign number make someone a yahoo boy?

ijobaooorun:

ago police are d worst if dey should find ordinary yahoo messenger on ur sys u be g boy

Na so

JohnNgene:
Now, how do you identify a yahoo boy? Does having a foreign number make someone a yahoo boy?

sadly the cops know how they operate, and if the warning signs are there, they "identify" as possible yahoo. if a person has nothing to hide then they will go along with the investigation and be on their way in no time.

Where are the lawyers? Please we need your help here.

is the info on the phone private?

my understanding is nothing in IT is not accessed remotely.

tpiadotcom:
is the info on the phone private?
my understanding is nothing in IT is not accessed remotely.

What kind of question is this? Is the information on MY phone PRIVATE? Lol

I just read on Linda Ikeji's blog that the Inspector General of police has ordered police officers to stop accessing the phones of civilians illegally. www.lindaikejisblog.com/2016/01/ig-of-police-bans-policemen-from.html?m=1
Could it be a reaction to this my experience and post last year? Probably.

mynd44 lalasticlala seun mukina2 obinoscopy..... Front page worthy to enlighten people. snake.... Tonto dike

Will the new Inspector General of police reverse the order of his predecessor? Who knows.