How to use your handheld device to nab corrupt law enforcement agents

at Friday, November 22, 2013

The average Nigerian in a uniform thinks he is above the law. He drives against traffic at great speed, and is careless in a convoy. When asked to pay his bus fare, he can beat up the conductor for not acknowledging him as a ‘staff.’ His car chases erring ‘danfo’ buses by hitting them continuously with his vehicle and throwing passengers into panic. And since the ‘okada’ ban in Lagos, there’s no telling how many he has confiscated.


If his uniform is yellow and wine, he is more interested causing more traffic to victimize offenders than in making the roads freer. But technology has provided a way out of this neo-military-era. An official of the Lagos state Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) is now on the run for accepting a bribe from a road user. These things happen every day, but this official is a scapegoat—he was caught on camera.


1. Prepare beforehand:

Don’t wait for the climax. As soon as you sense illicit behavior about to take place, be camera ready. Fumbling with your camera in the heat of the moment could turn ugly; so when you begin to smell the action, check you battery, memory space, and click on your recording icon.

2. Play your part right:

When it comes to i-reporting, you could sometimes be an actor in your own movie. If you’re being assaulted, cry all the tears necessary; if a bribe is demanded of you, negotiate or grovel. Simply put, behave as you would have if the camera wasn’t there.

3. Crash course in video recording: When it comes to video quality, the quality of the camera goes a long way. But even with a low quality camera, you can still make some impact. It is usually better to record with your camera in a horizontal instead of vertical position. If you’re involved in the incident, keep your camera away from you; at a vantage point where it can view as much as possible, or in the hands of someone you trust who is not directly involved. Also, you aren’t going to be scored for excellent shots, so try not to look into your phone too much.

4. Don’t be too obvious about it:

If you want your phone ceased or broken, or if you enjoy being beaten to pulp by lawless law enforcement agents, then be sure to shove the camera in their face. But if you want to save your phone, and the figure of your face, be discrete. Avoid letting the perpetrator know that he will regret his move for a long time, if you do, he’ll make you regret yours.

5. Keep your phone off the radar:

Some people don’t just know when to call. Don’t let anyone spoil your sting video, keep your phone off the mobile network before you begin recording.

6. Get a backup plan:

To be on the safe side, try recording with more than one camera if possible.

7. Upload immediately:

As soon as you have access to your phone, export the video either by email, whatsapp or by uploading it on a social media platform such as youtube or channelstv. If you are at risk and need to delete the video as soon as possible, be sure you have properly exported it to another platform.

8. Truth and motive:

Sometimes, videos can be manipulated to misrepresent the truth. This is totally against the ethics of i-reporting. The idea is to check our law enforcement, not to victimize anyone. So as you go about you recording activism, fight for truth, with the right motive-to see a corruption free Nigeria.