Launches Padi Protocol - A New Blockchain Initiative by a Nigerian Developer, Aiming to Safeguard Proof of Police Brutality Incidents
In the wake of the 2020 EndSARS protests, a new initiative, Padi Protocol, is aiming to address the issues of police misconduct and evidence security in Nigeria. Launched in 2025, this blockchain-based platform allows youth to report police brutality and securely store evidence.
The Padi Protocol is built on the Celo blockchain, chosen for its mobile-first design and minimal data usage, making it accessible to most Nigerians who primarily access the internet via mobile devices. Users can create a digital ID in the form of a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), which contains verified personal information stored on InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a decentralized storage system.
Each NFT ID is linked to a verified lawyer from Padi Protocol's network, ensuring instant legal representation for vulnerable youth. The platform currently has 500 lawyers in training, all vetted and educated on blockchain technology and the mission of the platform.
However, the Padi Protocol faces challenges such as funding, adoption, and institutional inertia. Overcoming these hurdles is crucial for its long-term success and impact. The system prioritizes decentralization over convenience, with the frontend of the platform hosted on IPFS, ensuring it cannot be taken down by authorities through conventional website hosting shutdowns.
The Evidence (Amendment) Act, 2023, expanded the scope of admissible electronic records to include new technologies such as blockchain and decentralized systems. Despite this, there is skepticism about police acceptance of Padi Protocol, with a senior officer in Port Harcourt stating that any system must respect the authority of officers while they perform their duties.
The platform is designed to function even with intermittent connectivity, storing evidence locally until the user can reconnect to the internet, at which point it is synced to the blockchain. This feature is particularly useful in Nigeria, where internet connectivity can be unpredictable.
The crisis that led to the EndSARS protests was rooted in a broader issue, as the police began adopting aggressive tactics in their attempts to combat internet fraud, leading to widespread profiling, arbitrary searches, and accusations of bribery targeting young Nigerians. After the shooting at Lekki Tollgate, vital evidence disappeared, witness statements were disregarded, and the government's official narrative stood in stark contrast to what millions of people had watched unfold on social media.
During the EndSARS protests, many ongoing cases became impossible to resolve due to lost records, highlighting the need for a platform like Padi Protocol with an immutable storage system. Deborah Orji, a lawyer on Padi Protocol, views the platform as an essential tool in Nigeria's legal landscape due to its potential to reduce costs and provide tamper-proof documentation.
Padi Protocol ensures that the records logged cannot be altered, destroyed, or disputed, bridging the gap in legal representation by connecting Nigerians to lawyers who charge on a token-based system. The platform is not the first blockchain-based initiative aiming to tackle abuse; examples include HeHop, a decentralized platform for reporting and verifying cases of gender-based violence, and Smashboard, developed by independent journalist Noopur Tiwari, for documenting harassment securely.
Five years after the nationwide protests against police brutality, young Nigerians continue to face routine harassment, with over 2,000 complaints against officers in 2024 alone. The Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) analyzed data from the National Human Rights Commission and discovered approximately 83,802 human rights violations committed by police, military, and paramilitary forces between January and August 2024.
In response to these ongoing issues, Padi Protocol offers a promising solution, leveraging blockchain technology to combat police brutality and promote community policing in Nigeria. However, it still needs to overcome significant challenges to achieve widespread adoption and sustainability.
The Padi Protocol, a blockchain-based platform built on the Celo blockchain, is addressing issues of police misconduct and evidence security in Nigeria, particularly leveraging technology like mobile-first design, IPFS, and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) for digital IDs. To ensure legal representation for vulnerable youth, each NFT ID is linked to a verified lawyer from Padi Protocol's network, with 500 lawyers currently in training.
Despite the Evidence (Amendment) Act of 2023 expanding the scope of admissible electronic records to include new technologies, there is skepticism about police acceptance of Padi Protocol, and change in acceptance and widespread adoption is crucial for its long-term success.
