The spokesperson of the Delta State Police Command, SP Bright Edafe, has stated that police officers have the legal authority to search individuals’ bags and pockets without obtaining a warrant.
However, he clarified that such powers do not extend to private homes or mobile phones, which require a valid warrant before any search can be carried out.
Edafe disclosed this in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday while giving details about the arrest of a suspected criminal who was caught with a firearm.
“Do the police have the right to search you randomly without a search warrant? The answer is yes; to search you, not your homes or phones. Searching your bag and pockets is allowed,” he wrote.
According to him, the arrest happened when officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), who were on routine patrol, spotted a man loitering suspiciously near a club in Asaba during the early hours of the day.
“This suspect was hanging around a club at about 5am, looking suspicious, when RRS operatives intercepted him. A search was conducted and a firearm was discovered. Listen to his explanation for carrying a gun to the club,” Edafe added.
In a video shared alongside the post, Edafe explained that officers patrolling along DBS Road, close to Don and Master, noticed the suspect moving suspiciously with a bag before he was stopped.
“While our RRS operatives were on visibility patrol around DBS Road, just by Don and Master, they saw a young man carrying a bag suspiciously. He was intercepted and searched. Inside the bag, a gun was recovered, together with its magazine and ammunition,” Edafe narrated.
Further checks by the police revealed that the suspect, identified as 39-year-old Bassey Udoh from Akwa Ibom State, was involved in stealing generators from residential compounds.
“Udoh was not only in possession of the gun. Our investigations revealed that he usually scales people’s fences while they are asleep to steal their generators. At other times, he uses the gate to exit with them. He normally operates between 4am and 5am,” the police spokesperson said.
During interrogation, Udoh admitted he had been in Delta State for about three years and confessed to breaking into at least nine homes over the past two months to steal generators.
“I have not entered more than nine houses. Some people buy the generator for N40,000 or N35,000,” he confessed.
On the recovered firearm, Udoh denied ever using it to rob, claiming instead that he carried it to clubs as a form of show-off.
“I was holding it, I did not use it for robbery. It was just for flexing at a club. I put it at my waist,” the suspect said.
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