About a week after Spokesperson for the Nigerian Police, Frank Mba, warned against going into arguments with armed policemen, he has said that Nigerians have the right to search policemen before they allow them search them.
In a statement on Monday, Mba said in a bit to allay fears, a person can politely request to search an officer before he or she is being searched.
He, however, stressed that one should be polite in doing so.
He said, “You may politely request that the officer be searched before searching you. Often times, this helps to allay fears that someone may be trying to plant incriminating items on you or implicate you in any other way.
“Demand to see the warrant of arrest where necessary (note, however, that not all invitation/arrest requires a warrant). As a matter of fact, under our laws, the Police have wide powers to arrest without warrant in many circumstances.
“Politely request that the officers allow you inform a trusted friend or a family member or a lawyer soon after your arrest in order to avoid unnecessary apprehension as to your whereabouts or safety. If the arrest requires the officer to conduct a search on you, demand to see the Search Warrant and comply with all legitimate instruction during the search (note that there are a lot of instances where a policeman can search you with or without warrant).”
