It appears the police are yet to receive a memo on whether they have the rights to check citizens’ phones or not. Recently, Nigerian musician, Jhybo was held by SARS operatives in Lagos.
The men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) are a dreaded unit of the Nigeria Police Force. Since the beginning of the year, there has been increasing calls for the police to cancel the unit.
According to a Bella Naija report, Jhybo had been accosted by SARS operatives along Oba Akran Rd in Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday.
The men forcibly retrieved his phone and went through his photo gallery, a treatment commonly meted out to suspected fraudsters.
When they found a picture of the artist holding a rifle, they reportedly told him they would not allow him to leave.
“I’m [the officers] going to hold you because you’re carrying a rifle and wearing khaki.” Jhybo said of his interaction with the police operatives.
The musician explained that he told the operatives that the photograph was from a video shoot. But they did not listen to him.
“I was like can you see I was on set shooting my music video, yet he won’t allow me go… Senseless!”
Jhybo did not however provide further information on the incident. Also, there is no public statement by the police confirming the incident yet.