SPPG unveils app for real-time crime reporting

A team from the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) has launched Synited Safe, a digital platform designed to strengthen community-based security by enabling Nigerians to report crimes, suspicious activities, and emergencies in real-time.

The Group Team Lead of Synited Safe, Uche Ekeledo, stated that the platform was developed as a capstone project by SPPG participants to bridge the information gap between citizens and security agencies, thereby improving emergency response.

‘‘This is a project that was born out of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance. Individual Nigerians are trying to create a solution that helps with the security situation. We wanted to do our own part to solve the problem and fix it,” Ekeledo said at the official launch of the platform in Abuja on Thursday.

He described Synited Safe as an early reporting platform that allows users to report incidents while also viewing security situations around them.

‘‘It is an early reporting platform where people will go and report incidents. You can also see incidents of the security situation around them. The more people report, the more people know about what is happening in the area,” he said.

According to him, the platform is built on the belief that effective security depends on timely information from citizens.

‘‘The most important thing about security is information, and information can only come from the people,” Ekeledo added.

He explained that the application, which is available for free on smartphone app stores, enables users to report emergencies in less than five seconds through a one-tap process that automatically captures their location.

‎‎”Whenever you see anything happening in your area, it takes less than five seconds. It is tap, tap, tap. It takes your location automatically from your phone, and then the government agencies can see it and respond. Other people nearby can also see it and help,” he said.‎

‎Ekeledo said the platform is expected to improve the quality of intelligence available to security agencies by aggregating multiple reports from the same location, making it easier to verify incidents and respond promptly.‎

‎”When security agencies are connected to our dashboards and suddenly see 10 or 15 reports coming from one area almost instantly, they know it is not a fluke because the information comes from the geolocation of the phones. We are hoping this will inspire them to trust those reports and respond quickly.”‎

‎He added that widespread adoption of the platform could also increase accountability by giving citizens evidence to demand better responses from security agencies.‎

‎Responding to concerns about poor internet connectivity in rural communities, Ekeledo disclosed that the developers are working on integrating a USSD reporting option.‎

‎”We have considered that limitation. What we plan to do is add USSD to the platform. That is the second phase because it requires integration with telecom operators and government approvals,” he said.

‎‎Speaking at the launch, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Linguistics and Foreign Matters, Alhaji Jamiu Abiola, commended the initiative, describing it as an example of Nigerians developing homegrown solutions to national challenges.

‎‎”The federal government is very happy to see Nigerians are enthusiastic and are creating Nigerian solutions for Nigerian problems,” Abiola said.‎

‎He said the Tinubu administration would study the platform and explore possible areas of collaboration.

‎‎”Now that it has been launched, we are going to look into the product more. We will share ideas, look at it with other things and try to integrate it. It is very important for this to have happened,” he said.

‎‎Abiola added that the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which seeks to encourage innovation and empower Nigerians to solve local challenges.‎

‎”We want Nigerians to start thinking out of the box. We want to renew the hope of the people, and we want that renewed hope to be geared towards innovative thinking,” he said.

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