Federal Government develops Mobile App for youths to report crimes, others

The Federal Government has developed a mobile application to report crime. Thie application emerged yesterday. ..Read Full Article

The mobile application, called ‘Mobiliser,’ is specifically targeted at Nigerian youths and can be downloaded on phones to report crimes and criminalities.

This, government said, would give security operatives comprising the Nigeria Police, the military and other security agencies to swing into actions to trail the criminals and bring them to book.

Director-General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Issa Lanre-Onilu, disclosed this during a meeting with media executives and top editors, at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Abuja, on Wednesday.

The meeting, which was convened by the Centre’s National Coordinator, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, also had Prof. Emman Shehu, a former spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Christopher Olukolade; Head of Strategic Communications in the ONSA, Zakari Mijinyawa, among others, as resource persons.

Speaking at the meeting, NOA DG, who was represented by the Director of Press, Paul Odenyi, explained that if youths knew a lot of lofty programmes the government had for them, they would embrace them and won’t engage in any form of violence.

“We know and aware that it is very important to carry youth along in whatever programmes we do. I want to, therefore use this medium to inform you that at the National Orientation Agency, we now have an App called ‘Mobiliser’, where Nigerian youth can report crimes and criminalities in first hand,” he said.

Earlier, the National Coordinator of NCTC, Maj.-Gen. Laka, explained that the Center sees the media as critical partners in the fight against terrorism and other violent crimes, adding that it was expedient for both the media and the security agencies to be on the same page.

He added: “The Centre, in collaboration with the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) in June this year conducted a 2-day training on Conflict-Sensitive Reporting.

“While we count on your support and cooperation as the last gatekeepers hence all media contents are often published by your consent, it is in your place and sacred duty to take full control and effectively use your medium of communications to promote mutual trust, build unity among Nigerians and adequately counter the destructive ideologies and narratives of terrorist groups.

“There is no doubt that media contents have been well-employed in the past to enlighten and reengineer the mind. They carry messages that encourage respect for human dignity, appreciation of our diversity, inspire loyalty and love of service for fatherland.”

In the same vein, a former spokesman of Nigerian Army, Chris Olukolade, emphasised that it was important for critical stakeholders which include media to change the narratives about the country.

Announcement of the mobile application is on the heels of a just-concluded 10-day hunger protest across the country.