The spokesperson of the Delta State Police Command, SP Bright Edafe, has declared that police officers have the legal right to search individuals’ bags and pockets without obtaining a search warrant.
Edafe made this known in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday while parading a suspect arrested with a firearm in Asaba, the state capital.
According to him, although the constitution protects citizens from unlawful invasion of their homes and phones without court authorization, officers are permitted to carry out stop-and-search operations on individuals when suspicion arises.
“Do the police have the right to search you randomly without a search warrant? The answer is yes — search you, not your houses or your phones. But to search you, your bag, pockets, is allowed,” Edafe wrote.
He explained that operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) on patrol around DBS Road, near Don and Master Club, intercepted a 39-year-old man, Bassey Udoh, who was moving suspiciously with a bag at about 5 a.m.
“When he was searched, a gun, a magazine and live ammunition were found in his bag,” the Command’s PRO stated.
Further investigation, Edafe said, revealed that the suspect had been involved in generator theft across different neighbourhoods. Udoh, who hails from Akwa Ibom but has lived in Delta for three years, confessed to breaking into at least nine houses in the last two months.
“He usually scaled fences while residents were asleep to cart away generators, sometimes wheeling them out through the gates. His operations were mostly between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.,” Edafe added.
The suspect, however, denied using the firearm for robbery, claiming it was only meant for showoff at a nightclub.
“I was holding it for flexing at the club, not to rob. I put it in my waist,” Udoh said during interrogation.
The police spokesperson urged members of the public to remain vigilant and support security operatives in the fight against crime.
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