By INNOCENT ANABA

LAGOS—Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has launched a text service “to encourage citizens and local residents who witness corruption at local government level in Lagos State to anonymously alert the organization and we will in turn report any such allegations to the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC.”

In a statement by SERAP’s Executive Director, Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni, said, “The initiative is undertaken as part of our organization’s local government anti-corruption project in Lagos carried out in collaboration with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, OSIWA.  SERAP hopes that citizens and local residents will be more likely to report incidents of corruption in their communities if they are able to text details and know that their identity will be safeguarded and confidential, rather than openly speaking about this.

“SERAP believes that many low-level cases of corruption that should be sent to the ICPC go unreported with citizens and local residents being too scared to blow the whistle. SERAP will closely monitor messages on allegations of corruption and carry out appropriate checks to ensure that the allegations made are in good faith, in the belief that the information is true, and that the disclosure is in the public interest. Once these conditions are satisfied, we will send petition on any such allegations to the ICPC for necessary action and follow-up,” the group said.

According to the organization, “The move follows the launch last week of a new Citizens’ Guide to the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, to encourage Nigerians to report to the commission any reports of corruption whether or not these directly affect them.  The Guide was written by Professor Oyelowo Oyewo former dean of the faculty of law University of Lagos.”

The organization also said that, “The initiative is designed to encourage greater community involvement and participation in anti-corruption activities, which hopefully will contribute to improved public service delivery such as health, education and other utilities to local residents.

“It is also to address the continuing exclusion of the poor and other marginalized communities or their lack of participation in their own governance. We therefore encourage residents in local government areas of Lagos State to feel free to text us on 08160537202 or check our website www-serap-nigeria.org for other numbers.

“Addressing corruption at the local government level is critical to comprehensively tackling the endemic and ensuring effective management of Nigeria’s natural resources. Although local-level corruption is assessed to be much more widespread than corruption at the federal and state levels most of the known cases of corruption are at the federal and state levels, and allegations of corruption among local government officials frequently go unreported; nor actions taken to redress the problem.”