Nigeria’s police Vigilant app raises questions about cycle of duplicate fraud reporting platforms

On September 1, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) introduced the Vigilant App, a digital tool enabling citizens to report financial fraud, submit evidence, monitor case progress and obtain feedback. The app was developed by the NPF's ICT Department in collaboration with stakeholders from the financial sector. The Force's Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, described the app as part of the Force's digital transformation efforts.

He noted that the rapidly evolving crime landscape, faster information dissemination, and citizens' growing expectations for tech-friendly public institutions necessitate the police's adaptation to these changes.

However, Vigilant is not the first of its kind among police initiatives. The NPF has previously attempted to leverage digital platforms to facilitate crime reporting. In 2017, the police launched Hawk Eye, an anonymous crime-reporting system that allowed Nigerians to submit information via video, voice, or text. Developed by ICT firm Web Assets Nigeria Limited and other technology partners, Hawk Eye was initially piloted in the Federal Capital Territory, with plans to expand to Lagos and other states.

By 2019, it had largely ceased operations, foreshadowing the potential limitations of a Police technology initiative that fails to endure beyond its initial rollout.

In 2021, the Force rolled out Rescue Me, another platform aimed at connecting citizens with the Police Command and Control unit during emergencies and enabling them to report crimes. The app provides emergency alerts, crime reporting, reporting police officers, navigation assistance, and ambulance requests. As of 2022, it has surpassed 100,000 downloads on Google Play.

However, concerns have been raised about the personal information requested during the registration process. The police have defended this data collection, explaining that it aids assistance and that access to users' photos can help identify individuals in danger. Rescue Me has also faced a high volume of fake emergency alerts, which overburdened the platform and affected genuine callers.

Rescue Me is not merely another Police app that was launched and abandoned. Despite its issues, it has garnered users, remains available, and has been employed to transmit emergency alerts. Nonetheless, the history of such digital reporting channels highlights that they are merely one component of the overall response system. The NPF also maintains a dedicated National Cybercrime Centre (NCCC) reporting system.

Its current portal allows users to submit cybercrime reports, upload evidence, and track cases. The NCCC operates 24/7 across all 36 states and has processed over 146,000 reports, leading to the recovery of more than ₦58 billion in assets.

In essence, Vigilant is not the first citizen-facing reporting platform the NPF has introduced in the past decade. It is likely at least the fourth such platform launched within the past ten years. While this does not guarantee that Vigilant will face the same fate as its predecessors, it does suggest that its effectiveness must be evaluated beyond its ease of use.

Financial fraud reporting, for instance, already has alternatives for Nigerians. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for example, operates Eagle Eye, an online platform specifically designed for reporting economic and financial crimes. Following its launch in July 2021 by then-EFCC chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa as the first application of its kind by a Nigerian law-enforcement agency, the platform has been instrumental in generating intelligence and supporting several investigations.

The EFCC continues to maintain the platform, which enables users to submit reports and upload evidence. Additionally, banks play a crucial role in this system, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has mandated financial institutions to maintain fraud desks since 2015, providing customers with a direct channel to report suspected fraud.

Banks also participate in the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF), an initiative established by the CBN to enhance information sharing on electronic fraud within the financial industry. However, participation has not been universal. In 2023, NIBSS reported that only 60 out of 163 profiled financial institutions submitted fraud data through the portal.

The CBN has since set higher expectations for financial institutions, aiming to reduce fraud response times to under 30 minutes as part of its efforts to curb electronic fraud. While the CBN has not yet published industry-wide data on whether banks have consistently met this target, the central bank continues to monitor the situation.