Through targeted media and advocacy campaigns, Backup Anti-law enforcement mobile App has reached over Ten thousand Nigerians with the message of Hope. According to the program’s lead for Backup, Anthony Eronmosele, ‘Backup has been able to reach up to 10,000 people in the short span of five months and we plan to reach up to 50,000 people in the next 12 months.
Backup was unveiled as a digital and GPS-enabled platform that helps individuals report cases of law enforcement harassment and human rights violations. Backup is designed specifically as an emergency distress tool to facilitate the reporting, tracking, and curbing of law enforcement brutality, and it works through a user-friendly mobile application that enables users to use the application’s widget to immediately send a distress message to their emergency contact, social media, and a web-based dashboard, so their locations can be known and their safety ensured.
The backup project lead, Anthony Eromosele, explained that despite the inevitable challenges faced at the pilot stage of the project, his team has been able to map out up to twenty-five stakeholders in the human rights space with different expertise that will be on board to provide various levels of assistance to victims of law enforcement brutality such as legal and medical interventions among others.
He explained that the app which was launched in September of 2021 has so far recorded tremendous growth in the short span of three months. The backup team has made diligent efforts to put the app on the map as the number one solution for recording and reporting law enforcement-related emergencies through a series of sensitization campaigns and media tours.
In Nigeria, cases of abuse of authority by law enforcement officers and human rights infringements are prevalent. These incidences of harassment and brutality often involve extorsion, excessive use of force, intimidation, physical abuse, torture, and illegal detention to say the least. These human rights infringements by rogue officers of the law often go unpunished, and this has necessitated the intervention of Mobile platforms such as Backup, which can provide rescue to individuals in distress.
The CANS Foundations (CWCDAfrica) known for its dedication to establishing a sustainable peace and justice system in line with SDG16 innovated an app “Backup” to provide equity, justice to law enforcement brutality victims.
