Nigeria, April 6 -- The Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Funsho Adegboye, has banned operatives in the state from searching the phones of citizens.

The police spokesperson in the state, Chidi Nwabuzor, disclosed this in a statement posted on the command's X handle on Thursday.

"Commissioner of Police, Edo State warns officers and men to desist from this act, as the inspector general of police directs Zonal AIGs, Command, and Formation CPs to monitor their personnel," Mr Nwabuzor.

The ban by the police in Edo State came less than two months after the police commissioner in Lagos State gave a similar warning to operatives in the state.

Incidents of operatives breaching the privacy of Nigerians by searching their phones have soared d...