What You Need to Know About Stop the Bribes Project

Stop the Bribes: why your report counts

Stopthebribes is a unique platform that allows you to report your experience of bribery/extortion from public officials (Police, PHCN, NSCDC, EFCC, Ministry staffs and its department staffs, government agencies among others) through text messages, and pictures and videos MMS. Reports can also be made directly on the platform. This user friendly platform allows you to automatically send reports in form of text and pictures using SMS and MMS respectively from your phone to 32811. For anyone with limited knowledge the use of phones, you can also make direct phone calls to report your experience. You can also send video clips to the same number; it will be acknowledged and recognized by the platform automatically. Computer, ipad, smart phone users can go directly to the platform http://stopthebribes.net to make their report(s) known. The platform also recognizes Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa, Pidgin English, English languages. Stopthebribes interfaces with various social network platforms like twitter, facebook, youtube, linkedIn, different instant messengers, myspace, oovoo video chat among others.  The options are endless. It is easy to use for all irrespective of age, knowledge of computer and phones.

What happens to reports on the platforms?

CLEEN Foundation is collaborating with the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja to ensure that reports on the platform are given firsthand attention. Selected officers from the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIP) downward have been assigned to this project to ensure that cases of police and other public officials’ corruption, extortion and bribery are treated with priority by punishing personnel founded culpable. Also, other public officials reported on the platform who are not police personnel will also be made to face appropriate sanctions through their offices. Consequently, this is one component that makes this platform different from other existing platforms of this nature. Corruption situation rooms have been set up at the force headquarter to allow the police see the points where cases are being reported across Nigeria. CLEEN is also partnering other anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria.

You Identity

Even as much as this platform will request for your phone number to enable us confirm your reports, your information and identity are held in strict confidence from any other person or institutions. We do not disclose any information concerning members of the public using the platform to any of the institutions or individuals we are working with. Your information is strictly for our consumption: you can trust us for that.

A Call to Patronage

The project has a phase that is appealing to the public; cost effectiveness of the platform which allows members of the public to post complains and comment about public officials without having to go a police station or servicom without a feedback mechanism answers to this. The use of different online social networks, blogs and sites which are widely used by Nigerians across all age brackets make it also very viable. The target beneficiaries of the project are road users, especially commercial vehicle drivers, commercial motorbike riders, truck drivers, market traders, young persons, women. The means of communication on the platform makes it available to everyone irrespective of language of difference; the site recognizes major languages in Nigeria (Yoruba, Hausa and Ibo) and tens of other foreign languages. It provides also an interactive platform for the public who could make comments and observations on existing post(s). The project will afford civil society organizations an ample opportunity to remaining watch dog of the society in Nigeria by using information on the platform for advocacy purposes.  Anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and ICPC will learn best practices in fighting corruption from this innovative project and possibly explore future collaboration with the CLEEN Foundation in sustaining the impact of the project.

1.      Project impact: The expected impacts of the project are:

        I.            Timely and regular reporting of bribery and corruption incidence involving public functionaries in Nigeria,

      II.            Popularization of use of the technology in incident reporting and crowding sourcing platforms as tools for transparency, accountability and governance campaign in Nigeria and beyond.

    III.            Identifying police officers that are doing good work in the field

   IV.            Ultimate reduction of low levels corruption and improving of good policing practices by celebrating and acknowledging the good officers

Why did the police buy into it?

        I.            For the NPF, it would be used to track compliance to the directives of the Inspector General of Police on removal of road blocks on the high way and effective service delivery with zero tolerance to corruption at the police stations;

      II.            It would also be used by the NPF to get feedback about positive policing and commendation by members of the public

    III.            It would also provide information that the IGP can use during his periodic meeting with the full management team on directives on ensuring positive policing in the country;

    IV.            The public awareness component would provide a platform for the NPF to interact with members of the public at the grassroots level to get their impressions, commendations and complaints in order to serve them better;