Legal practitioner and public affairs commentator, First Baba Isa, has questioned concerns reportedly raised by the Inspector-General of Police over members of the public recording police officers while carrying out their official duties.
Baba Isa argued that there should be nothing demoralising about a police officer being recorded while performing a lawful public duty, especially when officers are expected to be accountable for their actions.
He asked what exactly police officers could be afraid of having captured on camera, stressing that recording an officer does not prevent the officer from carrying out legitimate responsibilities.
According to him, public recording has instead helped expose cases of alleged abuse, misconduct and other illegalities that may otherwise remain hidden.
“A police officer who is doing the right thing should have no reason to be concerned about being recorded,” he argued.
Baba Isa also extended the same argument to judges and proceedings in open courts.
He questioned why members of the public, journalists and lawyers should generally be prevented from independently recording proceedings conducted in public, except where legitimate legal restrictions apply.
He recalled his earlier position during the controversy surrounding the imprisonment of his brother, lawyer Inibehe Effiong, for contempt of court by the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State.
Baba Isa said the incident raised concerns about the reliability of relying solely on a court's official record where the judge is directly involved in the events being disputed.
He argued that allowing journalists or members of the public to record proceedings could provide an independent record and strengthen transparency in the justice system.
According to him, if police officers can be required to wear body cameras to document their interactions with members of the public, there should also be no blanket objection to members of the public recording those same interactions.
He maintained that both police officers and judges should, as a general rule, be open to being recorded while carrying out public functions, subject only to legitimate and narrowly defined exceptions.
Baba Isa said transparency should not be seen as an attack on authority, arguing that public officers who perform their duties properly should have little reason to fear independent documentation of their actions.
“The camera does not create the misconduct. It merely records it,” he stated.
He concluded that where public officers are performing public functions, greater openness and independent documentation can strengthen public confidence and accountability.
First Baba Isa is a legal practitioner and writes from Abuja.
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