The Nigerian Army’s flagship mobile application, NA iReport, has vanished from the Google Play Store, six years after it was launched.
Similarly, the Nigeria Police Force’s Police-VGS Quick Emergency Report and Response System app, launched in 2023 by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has been riddled with glitches.
The disappearance of the Army’s application and the technical issues plaguing the Police app have raised questions about the sustainability of tech-driven public safety initiatives by Nigerian security agencies.
The NA iReport app, introduced in October 2018 during the inauguration of the Nigerian Army Cyber Warfare Command, was part of efforts to modernise the response to threats, enhance cyber defence, and improve civil-military cooperation.
At the time, the then Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), said the platform would allow citizens to report terrorist activity and misconduct by military personnel anonymously, promising accountability and faster response times.
“Nigerian Army iReport is a mobile app that will allow users to report complaints and relay information anonymously to the Nigerian Army.
“It enables citizens to give timely information… Additionally, crimes against the constitution perpetrated by serving personnel can be directly reported to the Army,” Buratai stated.
However, a search by our correspondent on Thursday showed that the application was no longer available on the Play Store.
As of 2022, the app had recorded over 10,000 downloads but was never made accessible on the Apple App Store for iPhone users.
A similar fate appears to be unfolding with the Nigeria Police Force’s Police-VGS Quick Emergency Report and Response System app, launched in 2023.
While still available on the Play Store with over 10,000 downloads, the app has been widely criticised by users for technical failures.
Our correspondent, who downloaded the 99MB application, confirmed that the app lacks basic functionality such as a registration option, making it impossible for new users to sign in or report incidents.
“Who are the people who rated this app more than one star?” a frustrated user asked in a review found helpful by 45 others.
“This app doesn’t work… It just reflects the current police situation in the country. TERRIBLE!” the reviewer added.
Another reviewer said, “I saw ‘Username’, ‘Password’, and ‘Sign in’ but no ‘Register’. One cannot sign in without first registering. Please update the app.”
Repeated efforts to get a reaction from the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
Reacting, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Lt. Col. Onyechi Anele, said the service had an active call centre where it receives tip-offs from citizens.
She said, “We have a 24hrs call centre, 193, dedicated to citizens’ prompt complaints, as well as our official social media handles manned 24/7 by our OSINT staff with sophisticated and classified AI-enabled tools for sentiment and network analyses from which intelligence products are generated for operations.
“The NA is far ahead of what The Punch is talking about, but we welcome any new ideas from them that could be considered by us.”(punch)
