Nigeria: Why should owning a phone be cause for worry?
17 January 2021 By Abiodun Giwa
Muhammed Buhari of Nigeria
A young man has been gunned down by suspected armed robbers. The police arrive at the scene of the homicide, but instead of helping the victim to obtain health care, they are more concerned about the laptop belonging to the dying man. The Punch newspaper reports about the case of a young man who was shot to die, but whose life would have been saved if the police had cared more about his life than his laptop.
Before now, there have been reports that merely owning a laptop is enough for the police in Nigeria to make you make you a crime suspect. And that raises a question about when owning laptop has become a gun that cannot be carried in the public?
Babajide Michael, a Nigerian now resident in the United States said that dressing well or being well attired is the first attraction by police to suspect anyone of crime, and that the question can then lead to the phone. The only thing that can save anyone is to not have any questionable chat in the phone because the police takes your phone and begins to scrutinize the owners' contacts and conversations.
There several stories from Nigeria replete with the police going after young people with suspicion of being scammers all because the country has a high rate of internet scamming, careless of the civil rights of suspects. This raises a question whether the police has a right to stop anyone on the street; demand for the phone and begin to scrutinize the phone.
The worst aspect of this development, sources say, is that whether the police find questionable item on your phone or not, a suspect does not go home without giving out some money to gain back his or her freedom. Obviously, the crime rate in the country is high, and the police have a free rein deciding the form of bail and how to dispense with suspects to close a case.
Because of the high rate of crime, a special police squad was formed to fight rising crime rate. At first, the squad was named 'kill and go', meaning the squad can kill and go without anyone asking questions. The squad was renamed Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.
The change in the name of the squad did not change the squad's acts of deadly operations. And that caused a nationwide protests by Nigerians against police brutality arising from unwarranted killing by the police. Many Nigerians are saying the problem with policing in the country is not just about brutality, but carelessness about the sanctity of human life.
The clarity here is that it is not only in the United States the police operational mode is in question. Policing that is supposed to be for the protection of the citizens has become a source of fear for the citizens. Although, the police in Nigeria did not kill the young man whose computer was the cause of worry for the police, but observers expect police as public officers to show a sense of decorum and respect for human life.
Citizens don't have to worry about their children becoming police suspects for owning a mobile phone or a computer. The young people are saying they are not responsible for the mass unemployment in the country, and should not become victims of lack of enabling factors to engage the youth.
Before now, there have been reports that merely owning a laptop is enough for the police in Nigeria to make you make you a crime suspect. And that raises a question about when owning laptop has become a gun that cannot be carried in the public?
Babajide Michael, a Nigerian now resident in the United States said that dressing well or being well attired is the first attraction by police to suspect anyone of crime, and that the question can then lead to the phone. The only thing that can save anyone is to not have any questionable chat in the phone because the police takes your phone and begins to scrutinize the owners' contacts and conversations.
There several stories from Nigeria replete with the police going after young people with suspicion of being scammers all because the country has a high rate of internet scamming, careless of the civil rights of suspects. This raises a question whether the police has a right to stop anyone on the street; demand for the phone and begin to scrutinize the phone.
The worst aspect of this development, sources say, is that whether the police find questionable item on your phone or not, a suspect does not go home without giving out some money to gain back his or her freedom. Obviously, the crime rate in the country is high, and the police have a free rein deciding the form of bail and how to dispense with suspects to close a case.
Because of the high rate of crime, a special police squad was formed to fight rising crime rate. At first, the squad was named 'kill and go', meaning the squad can kill and go without anyone asking questions. The squad was renamed Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.
The change in the name of the squad did not change the squad's acts of deadly operations. And that caused a nationwide protests by Nigerians against police brutality arising from unwarranted killing by the police. Many Nigerians are saying the problem with policing in the country is not just about brutality, but carelessness about the sanctity of human life.
The clarity here is that it is not only in the United States the police operational mode is in question. Policing that is supposed to be for the protection of the citizens has become a source of fear for the citizens. Although, the police in Nigeria did not kill the young man whose computer was the cause of worry for the police, but observers expect police as public officers to show a sense of decorum and respect for human life.
Citizens don't have to worry about their children becoming police suspects for owning a mobile phone or a computer. The young people are saying they are not responsible for the mass unemployment in the country, and should not become victims of lack of enabling factors to engage the youth.
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