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50 Illegal Things Nigerian Police Officers Do Everyday That You Didn't Know Were Unlawful

Good day, fellow Nigerians.

If there is one thing that has normalized oppression in this country, it is the fact that many of us do not know where police authority starts and where it stops. We have normalized so much abuse that when an officer actually follows the law, we feel like he is doing us a favor.

My experience has not been good. We were going to Akwa Ibom and followed the Bende LGA route. It was around 7pm. Could you believe the police mounted a road block, not to check vehicles but to order that every single vehicle must pay N2500 or they would not be allowed to pass? Omo, I came down to go talk to the person who looked like the guard commander, and he was ordering me to "do not come close to this place if you are not with your money or I will shoot." You go shoot me keh? I mean on the main road!! I cannot remember the road name, but Akwa Ibomites may testify. I refused to obey that order and kept walking to him, and this bloody civilian cocked his rifle. I still continued and walked up to him even as he pointed the gun...and I asked him (politely) why he was robbing people on the road, coupled with the fact that the route was very terrible. He demanded to know my identity, to which I countered that my background was entirely irrelevant as it did not alter the objective reality of the systemic corruption underway. To truncate the narrative, I was eventually granted passage; however, this individual concession did not mitigate the ongoing exploitation of other commuters. They seamlessly resumed their illicit operations, and a mere pair of vehicles trailing immediately behind me managed to bypass the toll unscathed.

While I hold no political office nor boast a patrician lineage, I am an individual who has rendered dutiful service to this nation and possess an inherent intolerance for state-sponsored intimidation. Na once person dey die. Although, my wife said it was a very dangerous thing to do... I could hear her soft pleas beseeching me to just come back then. Make God just bless me. Make me bless my wife.

Many of us tremble at checkpoints or police stations because of the uniform and the gun. But the truth is, the Nigerian Police Force is bound by the Police Act and the 1999 Constitution. They are not above the law.

Below are 50 things police officers do to Nigerians every single day that they actually have absolutely no legal right to do. Read them, memorize them, and know your rights.

The 50 Illegal Police Actions

1. Forcefully searching your mobile phone or laptop without a duly signed search warrant.
2. Forcing you to unlock your phone or demanding your passwords at a checkpoint.
3. Scrolling through your bank app, text messages, or WhatsApp chats.
4. Arresting you for "wandering" (wandering was abolished as a crime in Nigeria since 1989).
5. Arresting you in place of someone else they are looking for (Proxy arrest is strictly forbidden by the Police Act).
6. Detaining you for a purely civil matter, like a breached contract, owed debt, or unpaid rent.
7. Operating as debt collectors for landlords or angry business partners.
8. Demanding money for bail (Bail is absolutely free, both at the station and in court).
9. Forcing you to write a statement against your will.
10. Writing a statement on your behalf and forcing you to sign it.
11. Torturing, slapping, or beating you to extract a confession.
12. Parading you before journalists and the media as a criminal before you have been convicted by a court of law.
13. Denying you access to a lawyer when you are arrested.
14. Denying you the right to inform your family about your whereabouts after an arrest.
15. Detaining you for more than 24 hours (or 48 hours depending on court proximity) without charging you to court.
16. Jumping into your car and forcing themselves into your passenger seat without your consent.
17. Seizing your car keys forcefully at a checkpoint just to intimidate you.
18. Deflating your car tyres because you requested to know your offence.
19. Arresting you simply because you have dreadlocks, dyed hair, or tattoos.
20. Labeling you a "Yahoo boy" and arresting you purely because you are young and driving an expensive car.
21. Arresting you just because you are carrying a laptop bag on the street.
22. Escorting you to an ATM to withdraw money to "settle" them.
23. Forcing you to transfer money to a POS agent at a checkpoint.
24. Demanding your Customs papers on the highway (Vehicle customs clearance is the job of the Nigeria Customs Service, not the Police).
25. Rejecting photocopies of your vehicle particulars and arresting you for not carrying the originals.
26. Searching your house without a valid search warrant (unless they are chasing a fleeing suspect in hot pursuit).
27. A male police officer physically searching a female suspect (Only female officers are legally permitted to search women).
28. Forcing you to sit on the bare floor, in the mud, or inside a gutter at a checkpoint.
29. Shooting at your moving vehicle simply because you refused to stop at a checkpoint.
30. Pointing a loaded firearm directly at you during a normal conversation or argument to induce fear.
31. Confiscating your legally purchased goods or property without a court order.
32. Forcing you to pay for the pen and paper used to write your statement at the station.
33. Demanding "mobilization fee" or "fuel money" to investigate a crime you reported.
34. Demanding a percentage of your money or property after helping you recover it from fraudsters or thieves.
35. Stopping you on the road to demand your marriage certificate when you are walking or driving with your partner.
36. Harassing you for your fashion choices, like wearing ripped jeans or bum shorts.
37. Dispersing peaceful, unarmed protesters using teargas or live ammunition.
38. Refusing to identify themselves or show their official ID card when you politely ask.
39. Operating checkpoints in plain clothes without name tags or any official identification.
40. Using unnumbered commercial vehicles (like Korope or Danfo) to conduct official arrests.
41. Harassing you for moving around late at night (Every Nigerian has the constitutional right to freedom of movement).
42. Impounding your vehicle without officially logging the offence or issuing a ticket.
43. Refusing to grant bail for bailable offences just to punish you or extort your family.
44. Telling you "I will kill you and nothing will happen" (This is a direct threat to life and is a criminal offence under the law).
45. Searching the trunk of your car without any reasonable suspicion of a crime.
46. Arresting you for recording them in a public place (It is not a crime to record police officers performing their duties in public).
47. Forcing you to admit to a crime you didn't commit on video.
48. Refusing to allow you to read a statement before signing it.
49. Taking your fingerprints or mugshot for a minor traffic offence.
50. Stripping you to your underwear in public or at the station as a form of humiliation.

⚠️ A WORD OF CAUTION ⚠️
While it is crucial to know your rights, please apply wisdom. You are dealing with armed men in a country where the system is often broken. Do not argue blindly on a lonely highway at night just to prove a point. You will agree with me these men become more dangerous on lonely roads or at night.

Do you also know you can sue the institution

Stay calm, be polite, do not resist arrest physically, and try to involve a lawyer or your family as soon as you can. Your primary goal at any dangerous checkpoint is to stay alive. You cannot fight for your fundamental human rights from the grave.

Know the law, stay out of trouble, and don't let anyone intimidate you into parting with your hard-earned money out of fear.

What is the worst experience you have had with police officers doing something on this list?

A police officer once said to me midway to their extortion gimmick: "who told you it is your right to know your right?? What is my job?"

Na uniform people dey respect fa. Remember you go commot am trek go house. Work responsibly. These are hunger games; do not make yourself a victim after extortion.

A very interesting and lovely write-up..

That was how some police officers extorted about 12 million naira from me last time that I visited Nigeria

50 keh, he no too much just bone them, nah daily bread dem dey find

This country is gone to the dogs, those assigned with power of authority abuse it to enrinch themselves since there is no checks in place.

The most annoying part is if you fight for the defenceless, they will later blame you or even attempt to take advantage of your kindness.

This life do what you can and move on

29. Simply because you refuse to stop at a check point.

https://www.nairaland.com/6581177/germany-based-oguchi-unachukwu-shot-dead

29. Simply because you refuse to stop at a check point.


Why would you refuse to stop at a check point? Is it optional anywhere in the world ?

One person read this kind of article and under the excuse he was late for his trip to Germany and ...

RIP is the clue I have for you

I've once had a personal experience with that number 22 👇

22. Escorting you to an ATM to withdraw money to "settle" them.

It happened many years ago when police raided my street around 9pm. I was taking a stroll when they nabbed me. They said my bail money was 2k, but only 500 naira and my debit card was on me. They drove me in their van to the nearest ATM to withdraw 1500 to complete 2k.

Aswear e pass 50 it's like 100

The most illegal and morally bankrupt thing you can do this 2027 election is to sell your vote

Say No to vote buying

These guys are more like terror squads. Later they will be saying Police is your friend.

Some of this knowledge will definitely help while some can only help you if you're dealing with a police officer that try to feign ignorance but if you are dealing with a criminal on uniform, broooo.

Even Sowore sef dem dey detain am unjustly.

Sometimes you just have to pay whatever you have to pay for fear of your life or to save time because those people are ready to waste your time especially when you have important thing to attend to.

Thanks for this info.

And may God help us in this country

I read all didn't, hence I would have made FTC

I think this is commendable and I will suggest it is written in a passport accessible for all to buy. So that whenever they breach the law, one can just pull it out and read into their ears.

But no be all of them dey black as their uniform!

I am sure 90% of these crimes are commited by the illiterates and more rarely the semi-illiterates among them!

The pregnant lawyer that claimed one of those rights was killed few years ago in Lagos.

Arguing your right with a Nigerian officer with a gun is like arguing with an American psychopath they can do anything...

Point 13 pissess me off.
They parade boys on the street.
They don't parade politicians same way.

Sonofgod1990:
That was how some police officers extorted about 12 million naira from me last time that I visited Nigeria

Comon shut up there

U wew still won borrow money from opay 🤣🤣🤣
U dey talk about say dem rip u 12million

Where u even see money comot for Nigeria 🤣🤣
Lies and fake life won wound you 😭😭🤣🤣

Paying for kerosine and tissue paper before you enter cell
Removing all your cloths before you enter cell

Too long to read...

Just a common primary school knowledge

Laws for the Rich associate

Kemical23:
A very interesting and lovely write-up..

And we have a president o. So much impunity in a country wey say eim be democracy

IGPs come and go and na the same dummies in uniform we continue to parade as police offcers.


Well sha, like Presidency, Like the NPF.

Bros the justice system is f'd up,if you have to go to court you will be remanded for atleast 2 weeks before you can even sort your bail which will still set u off about 200 to 250k atleast.....2 arduous weeks in confinement is no joke and the police guys knows no one will be willing to go through that excruciating experience so they use that fear to his advantage.

Bros the justice system is f'd up,if you have to go to court you will be remanded for atleast 2 weeks before you can even sort your bail which will still set u off about 200 to 250k atleast.....2 arduous weeks in confinement is no joke and the police guys knows no one will be willing to go through that excruciating experience so they use that fear to their advantage.

Nice education
Everyone should memorize the list

Nice one . Thanks for this piece. Always know your right. This reminds me ; where is that other Nairalander that likes posting about “ 40 things…” ? I hope he is good ? Safe guys !

This has to be one of the most stupid poll I have ever seen

Just buy a dashcam and install it visibly in your vehicle.
At the sight of it, they will only request for your driver's license & vehicle particulars.

legalized and uniformed bandit.

Oga Chatinet, No. 35 is a stretch, haba, which police officer ever does that.