Court rules police can't seize, search electronic gadgets without warrant

Abu Mubarik 10:55 - 02 April 2017

The ruling, delivered by Mr Justice Anthony Yeboah, was made after one Edmund Addo filed a case at the court when the police seized his laptop, phone, hard drive and Internet modem and hired the services of an IT expert to access the laptop and the phone.

An Accra High Court has delivered a landmark ruling blocking the police from seizing and searching the electronic gadgets of suspects without warrant.

The police had forced him to provide his password but he refused.

In a suit filed on June 13, 2016, Addo among other things, asked the court to declare that his rights to privacy, property, fair trial or education had been, were being or were likely to be violated by the respondents, namely the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney-General (AG).

The application also prayed the court to restrain the respondents from further interfering with or violating the above-mentioned rights of the applicant and for the immediate return of the said laptop and mobile phone to the applicant or deposit same with the trial court.

In his argument, Counsel for the applicant, Mr Justice Srem-Sai, said the police cannot access the content a gadget without a search warrant.

But the Attorney General argued otherwise, saying it was necessary to access the content of the device because of the crime the applicant had committed.

In his ruling Justice Anthony Yeboah held that the applicant's rights were violated, his privacy breached and that he did not get fair trial.

In addition, the court ordered the IGP to submit the electronic gadgets to the registrar of the trial court within two weeks.