By Uche AmunikeIn a bid to track corrupt elements while carrying out their crusade in fighting financial and economic crimes, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has announced through its Executive Chairman, AbdulRasheed Bawa that it was game-up for corrupt elements as the Commission has just launched an application (App) known as ‘Eagle Eye’ which is designed to aid whistleblowing.
According to Bawa, the App, which he described as the first of its kind in Nigeria by any law enforcement agency, was designed to ease the process of reporting economic and financial crimes in Nigeria.
He confirmed that it was conceived, designed and developed by the ingenuity of the agency.
He was excited that it was an initiative that clearly demonstrated his promise on assumption of office that he intended to run an agency that is technology driven.
He said: ‘The Eagle Eye represents a new experience in information sharing and crime reporting between the public and the EFCC.
‘Apart from complementing the existing channels for reporting economic crimes, the unique advantage of this application is that it eliminates direct person-to-person interface in the reporting process and guarantees anonymity which is an added incentive to effective whistleblowing.’
‘With the App, those who hitherto were afraid to report corruption cases to the commission either for fear of being identified by the culprits or having their identities revealed, can now do so with the assurance of full anonymity.
‘With the Eagle Eye, Nigerians and non-Nigerians can easily take a picture of a property suspected to have been fraudulently or corruptly acquired and report through the App seamlessly’.
‘With the Eagle Eye, you have at your fingertips a device that will ultimately ensure that there is no hiding place for the corrupt in Nigeria.’
The EFCC boss made an appeal to the general public to take advantage of the app in reporting cases of corruption and economic crimes to the knowledge of the EFCC.
He opined that the Eagle Eye App will go a long way in aiding the reportage of fraudulent activities of individuals, especially in cases of money laundering through Real Estate.
He maintained that Media Practitioners and journalists occupy vantage positions in assisting the EFCC in bringing the knowledge of the application to public notice and going the extra mile to help Nigerians understand how it could be deployed for the fight against economic crimes and corruption which has eaten deep into the fabric of society.
Explaining how it works, the EFCC boss said that Eagle Eye is a user-friendly application with features that can be easily used by any literate person.
The first step, he said, was to download it to any device either from the Apple or Google Play Store.
He stated further that for those who would want to key into the whistle-blowing policy of the Federal government and obtain reward for reporting corruption, such persons were expected to make such indications in the information they provide.
He however warned that there are penalties clearly stipulated in the law for giving false information that could mislead the Commission.
