In Lagos, the reminiscence of October 20, 2020, nonetheless haunts Daniel Tambee, a Nigerian blockchain developer. That night time, on the Lekki Tollgate, army personnel opened hearth on protesters demanding an finish to police brutality. A number of casualties have been reported, although precise numbers stay disputed. However what haunted Tambee most wasn’t simply the violence—it was what occurred to the proof and victims afterward.

The nationwide protests, referred to as #EndSARS, had begun weeks earlier, concentrating on the now-defunct Particular Anti-Theft Squad—a police unit initially established to fight armed theft however which had devolved into an emblem of systematic abuse. The roots of the disaster ran deeper than one rogue unit. As on-line scams traced to Nigerian youth turned more and more frequent globally, police started utilizing aggressive techniques of their bid to fight web fraud or what’s colloquially referred to ‘Yahoo’ or ‘419’. This, nevertheless, has led to widespread profiling, arbitrary searches, and alleged bribe collections concentrating on any younger Nigerian with a smartphone or laptop computer.

The breaking level got here with the loss of life of Jimoh Isiaq in Ogbomoso on October 9, 2020, and several other different victims of police violence. Nigerians, led largely by youth, took to the streets in unprecedented numbers. For days, the protests remained largely peaceable, with demonstrators demanding police reform and accountability.

However the motion’s finish was as tragic as its starting was hopeful. DJ Swap live-streamed from the Lekki Tollgate on Lagos Island through the capturing, offering real-time documentation of the violence. Regardless of her footage, authorities officers later claimed her documentation was manipulated. Within the chaos that adopted the capturing, essential proof disappeared, witness accounts have been dismissed, and the federal government’s official narrative contradicted what thousands and thousands had watched unfold on social media.

An ongoing actuality

5 years after these nationwide protests in opposition to police brutality, younger Nigerians, particularly distant staff, nonetheless face routine harassment. The statistics inform a stark story: The Nigeria Police Drive’s personal accountability stories acknowledge over 2,000 complaints filed in opposition to officers in 2024. Civil society organisations imagine the precise quantity is far greater.

The Basis for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), a Nigerian media firm, analyzing knowledge from the Nationwide Human Rights Fee, discovered roughly 83,802 human rights violations dedicated by police, army, and paramilitary forces between January and August 2024 alone. These figures underscore why modern options stay urgently wanted.

“I’m wondering what would have occurred if we had video recordings of that protest saved on the blockchain,” Tambee displays. “What if footage of the Lekki Tollgate violence had been immediately secured on a system no authorities might ever delete or dispute?”

It was on this aftermath—watching proof vanish and justice delayed—that Tambee conceived his resolution, Padi Protocol. 

An irrefutable proof system

Tambee didn’t arrive at blockchain by chance. With a background in conventional net growth, he turned fascinated by the know-how’s potential past monetary hypothesis. “The ideology behind blockchain is about a lot extra than simply finance,” he explains. “It’s insanely broad.”

What captivated him was blockchain’s immutability—the truth that as soon as knowledge is saved, it can’t be modified or deleted. For somebody watching proof of police brutality disappear or be dismissed as “doctored,” this characteristic felt revolutionary. “Think about you file proof and put it on [a] chain, the place it can’t be tampered with,” Tambee explains. “That could be a verifiable supply of reality. And if in case you have a number of sources pointing to the identical piece of proof, that’s one thing you actually can’t ignore.”

He cites DJ Swap’s expertise as the proper instance: “Think about if she might have taken a video, and there have been possibly 5 different individuals placing that on an immutable database that permits everyone to look via it and say, this can’t be tampered with. That may have made her declare way more substantial.”

How Padi Protocol works

Padi Protocol is an app that helps Nigerian youths report police brutality and retailer tamper-proof data of proof. Constructed on the Celo blockchain, the platform ensures that data logged can’t be altered, destroyed, or disputed, whereas additionally connecting Nigerians to legal professionals who cost on a token foundation, filling the authorized illustration hole and lowering prices for individuals who’ve been wrongly profiled.

When customers join Padi Protocol, they mint a digital ID within the type of an NFT (Non-Fungible Token)—consider it as a safe, blockchain-based ID card. This ID comprises verified private info saved on IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), a decentralised storage system powered by blockchain know-how.

Every NFT ID is backed by a verified lawyer from Padi Protocol’s community, creating a direct connection between weak youth and authorized illustration. Presently, the protocol has 500 legal professionals in coaching, all vetted and educated on each blockchain know-how and the platform’s mission.

“We name them paddies,” Tambee explains, referencing the Nigerian slang for associates or allies. “In our case, the padi—who’re the legal professionals—are your pals, really. Whenever you join, you get hooked up to a lawyer, your authorized consultant you possibly can at all times name upon.”

Technical structure for Nigerian realities

Tambee selected Celo blockchain for particular causes that align with Nigerian realities. In contrast to Ethereum’s excessive gasoline charges or Bitcoin’s vitality consumption, Celo is mobile-first, designed for smartphone entry with minimal knowledge necessities. This issues in a rustic the place most web entry occurs via cellular units and knowledge prices stay vital for a lot of customers.

The platform works even with intermittent connectivity, storing proof domestically earlier than syncing to the blockchain when connection is restored. The system’s structure prioritises decentralisation over comfort. The frontend might be hosted on IPFS, making it unattainable for authorities to close down via conventional internet hosting takedowns. “It’s going to be purely decentralised, that means even when we run into authorized issues with the federal government and so they need to take the location down, we can’t as a result of we’ve no half to take it down.”

Tambee addresses privateness considerations by storing precise proof recordsdata on IPFS while preserving solely cryptographic hashes on the blockchain—sustaining immutability while preserving privateness.

Authorized admissibility

For any blockchain-based proof platform to work in Nigeria, it should navigate the nation’s authorized framework. Digital proof has been admissible in Nigerian courts because the Proof Act 2011, notably beneath Part 84, which governs the admissibility of computer-generated proof. The Proof (Modification) Act, 2023 expanded the scope of what constitutes admissible digital data—broadening definitions of “paperwork” and “computer systems” in Part 258 to incorporate rising applied sciences corresponding to blockchain and decentralised methods.

Which means that platforms like Padi Protocol, which depend on digital logs and good contracts, can probably have their data recognised in court docket. Landmark instances like Kubor v. Dickson and FRN v. Fani-Kayode have established precedents for digital proof acceptance.

Nonetheless, blockchain proof represents new territory. While the regulation doesn’t particularly point out blockchain, the know-how’s outputs qualify as digital data as soon as authenticity and integrity are confirmed—precisely what blockchain’s cryptographic signatures present.

One of many legal professionals on the platform, Deborah Orji, sees Padi Protocol filling a essential hole in Nigeria’s authorized panorama. “Nigeria is a low-trust, legal-averse society the place many individuals both can’t afford authorized assist or don’t imagine the system will defend them,” she explains. The blockchain-based method addresses each challenges by lowering prices and creating tamper-proof documentation that strengthens instances considerably.

When courts have been burnt down throughout EndSARS protests and data misplaced, some instances ongoing for 20 years turned unattainable to resolve as a result of legal professionals not had entry to essential proof, she emphasised. With Padi Protocol’s immutable storage system, that danger is considerably lowered, making certain authorized work and important documentation stay accessible no matter bodily infrastructure challenges.

This technical and authorized basis units the stage for deployment, however vital challenges stay in bringing this innovation to the individuals who want it most.

Skepticism, resistance, and highway to adoption

Regardless of the innovation, questions stay about adoption and sustainability. Nigeria’s crypto ecosystem remains to be creating, with many voters remaining skeptical of blockchain know-how resulting from affiliation with scams and volatility.

Blockchain knowledgeable Kassy Olisakwe acknowledges each the potential and challenges of such civic blockchain functions. “Blockchain’s immutability and transparency can safe civic data and deter tampering,” he notes. “Nonetheless, spotty web and unreliable energy can sluggish on-chain adoption in lots of areas.”

His considerations prolong to privateness concerns. “Public blockchains expose all knowledge to each participant, so private or authorized paperwork on-chain danger privateness breaches. Greatest follow is to maintain delicate recordsdata off-chain and solely retailer hashed proofs on-chain.”

The sustainability query looms bigger. “Pure utility tokens typically lose momentum as soon as preliminary rewards are spent,” Olisakwe warns. The problem for Padi Protocol might be sustaining lawyer engagement and person participation with out speculative incentives.

Funding challenges and growth timeline

Funding is one other impediment. Like many startups, Padi Protocol is working with restricted capital. Tambee is at the moment elevating a pre-seed spherical to speed up growth and develop outreach. “There are nice options we’re desirous to implement earlier than launch, however timelines are stretched with out sufficient capital,” he defined.

The spherical goals to safe funds for platform growth, authorized onboarding, and person schooling. “We’re taking a milestone-driven method, however sustainable backing will enable us to scale extra rapidly and construct with intention,” Tambee mentioned.

Police pushback

Maybe the most important query mark hangs over police acceptance. Legislation enforcement establishments globally have a tendency to withstand accountability instruments, and Nigeria’s police pressure has traditionally been notably proof against exterior oversight.

“The Nigeria Police Drive welcomes applied sciences that promote transparency,” mentioned a senior officer in Port Harcourt who requested to stay nameless. “However any system should respect the authority of officers performing their duties. That mentioned, nothing is ineffective—we’re open to dialogue.”

The 2020 Police Act really encourages neighborhood policing and technological innovation, creating some authorized framework for digital engagement between residents and regulation enforcement. As an example, Part 66 mandates the documentation of police operations, whereas Part 35(3) ensures residents’ proper to authorized illustration. However implementation stays the important thing problem.

Solomon, a authorized practitioner not affiliated with the platform and who requested to go by his first identify solely, expressed skepticism about police cooperation: “The pressure has been proof against accountability instruments. Nonetheless, if blockchain data function verifiable, tamper-proof proof in conditions of abuse, it step by step makes it tougher to dismiss citizen complaints.”

The skepticism extends to potential customers themselves. “It sounds promising, however I’m cautious of blockchain options after dropping cash in crypto schemes,” says Tobi Adebare, a Lagos net designer who spent per week in police custody in 2023. “If they’ll show it’s not a rip-off and truly works if you’re dealing with [the] police, I’ll positively use it.”

This response captures the central problem: in a market saturated with crypto scams and failed blockchain guarantees, how does a genuinely helpful civic device achieve belief?

International context

Padi Protocol isn’t the primary blockchain initiative addressing abuse. HeHop,  a decentralised platform based mostly in France, makes use of blockchain to anonymously report and confirm instances of gender-based violence. Equally, Smashboard  (developed by India’s unbiased journalist, Noopur Tiwari) leverages blockchain and encryption to assist survivors securely doc harassment whereas sustaining management over their knowledge.

Past police accountability, African startups are adopting blockchain for civic options. In Nigeria, HouseAfrica tackles property fraud by digitising land data on-chain, whereas Kenya’s Abit Community ensures transparency in agricultural provide chains—proving the know-how’s broader potential for social affect.

Launch timeline and future imaginative and prescient

Tambee started work on Padi Protocol in December 2024. With good contracts already deployed on Celo’s testnet, Tambee’s group is finalising the app interface. The venture will first launch in Lagos earlier than spreading to different elements of the nation.

Tambee envisions increasing throughout Africa. “The mannequin can adapt to completely different international locations. It’s not about simply fixing Nigeria’s issues—it’s about constructing a civic security internet for the continent.”

With deployment deliberate for July, Padi Protocol represents a vital take a look at of blockchain know-how’s social utility past monetary functions. If profitable, it might reveal how decentralised methods can tackle real-world governance failures and energy imbalances.

For younger Nigerians who lived via #EndSARS and proceed to face police harassment, the protocol provides one thing that conventional methods haven’t; a solution to struggle again with proof that may’t disappear, legal professionals they’ll afford, and a neighborhood that has their again.

Whether or not Padi Protocol turns into a transformative civic device or one other bold thought stalled by skepticism will rely not solely on its code however on the belief it could earn. For now, it provides a uncommon type of hope: that the following time injustice occurs, somebody might be watching—and this time, the file may really stick.

————–

Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is again in Lagos on October 15–16! Be a part of Africa’s prime founders, creatives & tech leaders for two days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward concepts. Early hen tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com