The technology, codenamed “Eagle Eye’’, seeks to boost
public participation in the fight against corruption by easing the process of
reporting economic and financial crimes to the commission.
A major complaint by anti-graft agencies in the country has
been that Nigerians are generally reluctant when it comes to assisting with
vital information on criminals and their activities.
Security experts have long identified this as a major
setback in the federal government’s fight against corruption in the land.
They blame the public apathy on certain realities, including
lack of confidence in security agents based on experiences, and bottlenecks in
the conventional financial crime reporting process, which is based on
submission of written petitions by informants.
According to the EFCC, “Eagle Eye’’ is designed to address
these and several other shortcomings that have long alienated the public in the
government’s anti-corruption crusade.
“Eagle Eye does not replace the conventional way of
submitting petitions. It is, however, a means of reporting financial crimes as
they happen’’ is a message on the app.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, the Chairman of EFCC,
Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, shed light on two key features of the app and how it
would make a difference in the financial crime reporting process.
Bawa explained that the technology was designed to guarantee
the anonymity or security of anyone reporting cases of corruption to the EFCC.
He said a unique advantage of the application was the
elimination of a direct person-to-person interface in the reporting process,
thereby guaranteeing confidentiality and “an added incentive for effective
whistleblowing’’.
According to him, it is a significant departure from the
conventional reporting channel that requires disclosure of an informant’s
identity to the commission.
He said that whistleblowers would no longer have to worry
about being sold out by corrupt agents to affected criminals.
The app, which is available on Apple or Google Playstore,
does not require registration by a user.
Users have an option to reveal their identities by providing
personal information such as name, phone number, e-mail address and contact
address.
“With the app, those who hitherto were afraid of report
corruption cases to the commission either for fear of being identified by the
culprits or having their identities revealed, can now do so with the assurance
of full anonymity,’’ Bawa said.
He also explained that the “Eagle Eye’’ app does not only
make it easy for the public to share information with the EFCC, it also brings
the commission closer to the people, especially those at the grassroots.
It eliminates the burden of paperwork, long-distant travel
to an EFCC’s office to submit a petition, and the cost and delays associated
with mailing of documents to the commission. The technology also came with a
photo upload link.
The EFCC boss said:
“Eagle Eye represents a new experience in information sharing and crime
reporting between the public and the EFCC.
“With this app, Nigerians and non-Nigerians can easily take
a picture of a property suspected to have been fraudulently or corruptly
acquired and send to us seamlessly’’.
However, Bawa explained that the app was not a replacement
of the traditional way of lodging complaints through lawyers or in-person,
adding that the commission would continue to receive information or petitions
from individuals the old way.
“We are not going digital completely’’, Bawa said.
Anthony Uzor (not real name), who works in the Federal
Ministry of Finance, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he had always
wanted to submit petitions to the EFCC but did not know how to go about it.
Besides, Uzor said the fear of his identity being revealed
to those exposed had also been a major drawback for him.
“If this app is what they say it is, then the two major
obstacles holding me back from reaching out to the EFCC have been removed; I
think it will also encourage many other Nigerians in my shoe,’’ Uzor said.
According to the EFCC chairman, the initiative is a clear
demonstration of his pledge, on assumption of office, to run a
technology-driven agency.
“The Eagle Eye will go a long way in aiding the reportage of
fraudulent activities of individuals, especially cases of money laundering
through the real estate sector,’’ he said.
The information
sharing links on the app are divided into four sections — A to D.
Section A, which is labelled “Select pictures/camera’’,
instructs users to “capture or select from your gallery picture(s) of
suspect/assert/property you wish to report’’.
Section B states location details, that is, the location of
suspects or assets or property that users wish to report.
Section C, labeled “Report description’’, asks users to
provide detailed description of pictures attached.
Under Section D, labelled “Informant details (optional’’),
informants who wish to reveal their identities can do so by providing their
full names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and residential addresses.
Bawa, therefore, appealed to the public to take advantage of
the app in bringing cases of corruption and economic crimes to the knowledge of
the EFCC.
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