Why SARS Operatives Check Phones -Ex-Police Officer
Former Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Boss, Vandefan Tersugh, on Monday says the act of searching phones by operatives of the unit was legal and one that does not infringe on the privacy of Nigerians.
The retired Superintendent of Police (SP) made this assertion while speaking on the recent disbandment of SARS on African Independent Television, AIT.
Advertisement
Tersugh mentioned that searching of phones by police operatives is not peculiar to Nigeria as such is practiced by security agents in other countries to identify criminals.
He noted that in an era of cybercrime prevalence, it is difficult to identify criminals by mere sight – “you do not know who is a criminal just looking at them”, he said.
“The mandate of the police in the country is to detect crime, by involving most of these new trends in crime-fighting technologies that are coming on board.”
Advertisement
The former cop added that compared to the past times, operatives are now trained to detect cybercriminals.
He said there may be need to resolve the situation asking questions or “sometimes examining physically.
“But today cybercrime has become something very endemic in our society . Well if I stop you on the road and I want to look at your phone or check your Facebook, I don’t think I have committed any crime.
“For me, I am just asking questions and it is your answers that will lead me to go beyond where I have started from.
“I cannot detect crime just by mere seeing you…but by asking questions.
Advertisement
“I cannot see you with a car and now I have assessed your age and I know in Nigeria it will be difficult for a particular person between 20 -30 years to have a car worth N7m and I cannot as a policeman see and assume that something is not wrong,” he said.
Tersugh noted that such a situation can only be overlooked if the police can ascertain the individual’s family background, job and means of generating such an amount to purchase a car worth that amount.
Although he acknowledged that some operatives may have hijacked the privilege, hence the extortion, but insisted is not illegal to check phones.
