The Nigerian Army’s mobile application, NA iReport, is no longer available on the Google Play Store, while the Nigeria Police Force’s emergency reporting app has been facing major issues.
This has raised concerns about how well security agencies in the country are using technology to improve public safety.
NA iReport, launched in October 2018 alongside the Nigerian Army Cyber Warfare Command, was created to help citizens report suspicious activity and misconduct by soldiers without revealing their identity.
It was introduced under the leadership of the then Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), with the aim of improving the Army’s relationship with the public and increasing the speed of response to threats.
For years, the app allowed users to submit reports easily.
It gained over 10,000 downloads, but it was never made available for iPhone users.
A recent search showed that it has been removed from the Play Store, with no public notice or official explanation about its disappearance.
Meanwhile, the Police-VGS Quick Emergency Report and Response System app, which was introduced in 2023 by the Nigeria Police Force, is still on the Play Store but not functioning properly.
Despite more than 10,000 downloads, users have continued to complain about the app’s poor performance.
Many reviews mention problems such as the inability to register or report incidents because basic features like the registration page are missing.
Some users even questioned how the app received high ratings when it doesn’t work as expected.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Police, Muyiwa Adejobi, did not respond to calls or messages about the issue.
However, the Nigerian Army, through its spokesperson Lt. Col. Onyechi Anele, stated that they have an active call centre reachable on 193.
She also noted that the Army’s social media platforms are monitored around the clock by specialists who use advanced tools to gather information for operations.
