In Lagos, the memory of October 20, 2020, still haunts Daniel Tambee, a Nigerian blockchain developer. That night, at the Lekki Tollgate, military personnel opened fire on protesters demanding an end to police brutality. Multiple casualties were reported, though exact numbers remain disputed. But what haunted Tambee most wasn’t just the violence—it was what happened to the evidence and victims afterward.
The nationwide protests, known as #EndSARS, had begun weeks earlier, targeting the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad—a police unit originally established to combat armed robbery but which had devolved into a symbol of systematic abuse. The roots of the crisis ran deeper than one rogue unit. As online scams traced to Nigerian youth became increasingly common globally, police began using aggressive tactics in their bid to combat internet fraud or what’s colloquially referred to ‘Yahoo’ or ‘419’. This, however, has led to widespread profiling, arbitrary searches, and alleged bribe collections targeting any young Nigerian with a smartphone or laptop.
The breaking point came with the death of Jimoh Isiaq in Ogbomoso on October 9, 2020, and several other victims of police violence. Nigerians, led largely by youth, took to the streets in unprecedented numbers. For days, the protests remained largely peaceful, with demonstrators demanding police reform and accountability.
But the movement’s end was as tragic as its beginning was hopeful. DJ Switch live-streamed from the Lekki Tollgate on Lagos Island during the shooting, providing real-time documentation of the violence. Despite her footage, government officials later claimed her documentation was manipulated. In the chaos that followed the shooting, crucial evidence disappeared, witness accounts were dismissed, and the government’s official narrative contradicted what millions had watched unfold on social media.
An ongoing reality
Five years after these nationwide protests against police brutality, young Nigerians, especially remote workers, still face routine harassment. The statistics tell a stark story: The Nigeria Police Force’s own accountability reports acknowledge over 2,000 complaints filed against officers in 2024. Civil society organisations believe the actual number is much higher.
The Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), a Nigerian media company, analyzing data from the National Human Rights Commission, found approximately 83,802 human rights violations committed by police, military, and paramilitary forces between January and August 2024 alone. These figures underscore why innovative solutions remain urgently needed.
“I wonder what would have happened if we had video recordings of that protest stored on the blockchain,” Tambee reflects. “What if footage of the Lekki Tollgate violence had been instantly secured on a system no government could ever delete or dispute?”
It was in this aftermath—watching evidence vanish and justice delayed—that Tambee conceived his solution, Padi Protocol.
An irrefutable evidence system
Tambee didn’t arrive at blockchain by accident. With a background in traditional web development, he became fascinated by the technology’s potential beyond financial speculation. “The ideology behind blockchain is about so much more than just finance,” he explains. “It’s insanely broad.”
What captivated him was blockchain’s immutability—the fact that once data is stored, it cannot be changed or deleted. For someone watching evidence of police brutality disappear or be dismissed as “doctored,” this feature felt revolutionary. “Imagine you record evidence and put it on [a] chain, where it cannot be tampered with,” Tambee explains. “That is a verifiable source of truth. And if you have multiple sources pointing to the same piece of evidence, that is something you literally cannot ignore.”
He cites DJ Switch’s experience as the perfect example: “Imagine if she could have taken a video, and there were maybe five other people putting that on an immutable database that allows everybody to look through it and say, this cannot be tampered with. That would have made her claim much more substantial.”
How Padi Protocol works
Padi Protocol is an app that helps Nigerian youths report police brutality and store tamper-proof records of evidence. Built on the Celo blockchain, the platform ensures that records logged cannot be altered, destroyed, or disputed, while also connecting Nigerians to lawyers who charge on a token basis, filling the legal representation gap and reducing costs for those who’ve been wrongly profiled.
When users sign up for Padi Protocol, they mint a digital ID in the form of an NFT (Non-Fungible Token)—think of it as a secure, blockchain-based ID card. This ID contains verified personal information stored on IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), a decentralised storage system powered by blockchain technology.
Each NFT ID is backed by a verified lawyer from Padi Protocol’s network, creating an immediate connection between vulnerable youth and legal representation. Currently, the protocol has 500 lawyers in training, all vetted and educated on both blockchain technology and the platform’s mission.
“We call them paddies,” Tambee explains, referencing the Nigerian slang for friends or allies. “In our case, the padi—who are the lawyers—are your friends, actually. When you sign up, you get attached to a lawyer, your legal representative you can always call upon.”
Technical architecture for Nigerian realities
Tambee chose Celo blockchain for specific reasons that align with Nigerian realities. Unlike Ethereum’s high gas fees or Bitcoin’s energy consumption, Celo is mobile-first, designed for smartphone access with minimal data requirements. This matters in a country where most internet access happens through mobile devices and data costs remain significant for many users.
The platform works even with intermittent connectivity, storing evidence locally before syncing to the blockchain when connection is restored. The system’s architecture prioritises decentralisation over convenience. The frontend will be hosted on IPFS, making it impossible for authorities to shut down through traditional web hosting takedowns. “It is going to be purely decentralised, meaning even if we run into legal problems with the government and they have to take the site down, we cannot because we have no part to take it down.”
Tambee addresses privacy concerns by storing actual evidence files on IPFS whilst keeping only cryptographic hashes on the blockchain—maintaining immutability whilst preserving privacy.
Legal admissibility
For any blockchain-based evidence platform to work in Nigeria, it must navigate the country’s legal framework. Digital evidence has been admissible in Nigerian courts since the Evidence Act 2011, particularly under Section 84, which governs the admissibility of computer-generated evidence. The Evidence (Amendment) Act, 2023 expanded the scope of what constitutes admissible electronic records—broadening definitions of “documents” and “computers” in Section 258 to include emerging technologies such as blockchain and decentralised systems.
This means that platforms like Padi Protocol, which rely on digital logs and smart contracts, can potentially have their records recognised in court. Landmark cases like Kubor v. Dickson and FRN v. Fani-Kayode have established precedents for digital evidence acceptance.
However, blockchain evidence represents new territory. Whilst the law does not specifically mention blockchain, the technology’s outputs qualify as electronic records once authenticity and integrity are proven—exactly what blockchain’s cryptographic signatures provide.
One of the lawyers on the platform, Deborah Orji, sees Padi Protocol filling a critical gap in Nigeria’s legal landscape. “Nigeria is a low-trust, legal-averse society where many people either cannot afford legal help or do not believe the system will protect them,” she explains. The blockchain-based approach addresses both challenges by reducing costs and creating tamper-proof documentation that strengthens cases significantly.
When courts were burnt down during EndSARS protests and records lost, some cases ongoing for 20 years became impossible to resolve because lawyers no longer had access to critical evidence, she emphasised. With Padi Protocol’s immutable storage system, that risk is significantly reduced, ensuring legal work and essential documentation remain accessible regardless of physical infrastructure challenges.
This technical and legal foundation sets the stage for deployment, but significant challenges remain in bringing this innovation to the people who need it most.
Skepticism, resistance, and road to adoption
Despite the innovation, questions remain about adoption and sustainability. Nigeria’s crypto ecosystem is still developing, with many citizens remaining skeptical of blockchain technology due to association with scams and volatility.
Blockchain expert Kassy Olisakwe acknowledges both the potential and challenges of such civic blockchain applications. “Blockchain’s immutability and transparency can secure civic records and deter tampering,” he notes. “However, spotty internet and unreliable power can slow on-chain adoption in many areas.”
His concerns extend to privacy considerations. “Public blockchains expose all data to every participant, so personal or legal documents on-chain risk privacy breaches. Best practice is to keep sensitive files off-chain and only store hashed proofs on-chain.”
The sustainability question looms larger. “Pure utility tokens often lose momentum once initial rewards are spent,” Olisakwe warns. The challenge for Padi Protocol will be maintaining lawyer engagement and user participation without speculative incentives.
Funding challenges and development timeline
Funding is another obstacle. Like many startups, Padi Protocol is operating with limited capital. Tambee is currently raising a pre-seed round to accelerate development and expand outreach. “There are great features we’re eager to implement before launch, but timelines are stretched without adequate capital,” he explained.
The round aims to secure funds for platform development, legal onboarding, and user education. “We’re taking a milestone-driven approach, but sustainable backing will allow us to scale more quickly and build with intention,” Tambee said.
Police pushback
Perhaps the biggest question mark hangs over police acceptance. Law enforcement institutions globally tend to resist accountability tools, and Nigeria’s police force has historically been particularly resistant to external oversight.
“The Nigeria Police Force welcomes technologies that promote transparency,” said a senior officer in Port Harcourt who asked to remain anonymous. “But any system must respect the authority of officers performing their duties. That said, nothing is useless—we’re open to dialogue.”
The 2020 Police Act actually encourages community policing and technological innovation, creating some legal framework for digital engagement between citizens and law enforcement. For instance, Section 66 mandates the documentation of police operations, while Section 35(3) guarantees citizens’ right to legal representation. But implementation remains the key challenge.
Solomon, a legal practitioner not affiliated with the platform and who asked to go by his first name only, expressed skepticism about police cooperation: “The force has been resistant to accountability tools. However, if blockchain records serve as verifiable, tamper-proof evidence in situations of abuse, it gradually makes it harder to dismiss citizen complaints.”
The skepticism extends to potential users themselves. “It sounds promising, but I’m wary of blockchain solutions after losing money in crypto schemes,” says Tobi Adebare, a Lagos web designer who spent a week in police custody in 2023. “If they can prove it’s not a scam and actually works when you’re facing [the] police, I’ll definitely use it.”
This reaction captures the central challenge: in a market saturated with crypto scams and failed blockchain promises, how does a genuinely useful civic tool gain trust?
Global context
Padi Protocol isn’t the first blockchain initiative addressing abuse. HeHop, a decentralised platform based in France, uses blockchain to anonymously report and verify cases of gender-based violence. Similarly, Smashboard (developed by India’s independent journalist, Noopur Tiwari) leverages blockchain and encryption to help survivors securely document harassment while maintaining control over their data.
Beyond police accountability, African startups are adopting blockchain for civic solutions. In Nigeria, HouseAfrica tackles property fraud by digitising land records on-chain, while Kenya’s Abit Network ensures transparency in agricultural supply chains—proving the technology’s broader potential for social impact.
Launch timeline and future vision
Tambee began work on Padi Protocol in December 2024. With smart contracts already deployed on Celo’s testnet, Tambee’s team is finalising the app interface. The project will first launch in Lagos before spreading to other parts of the country.
Tambee envisions expanding across Africa. “The model can adapt to different countries. It’s not about just solving Nigeria’s problems—it’s about building a civic safety net for the continent.”
With deployment planned for July, Padi Protocol represents a crucial test of blockchain technology’s social utility beyond financial applications. If successful, it could demonstrate how decentralised systems can address real-world governance failures and power imbalances.
For young Nigerians who lived through #EndSARS and continue to face police harassment, the protocol offers something that traditional systems haven’t; a way to fight back with evidence that can’t disappear, lawyers they can afford, and a community that has their back.
Whether Padi Protocol becomes a transformative civic tool or another ambitious idea stalled by skepticism will depend not only on its code but on the trust it can earn. For now, it offers a rare kind of hope: that the next time injustice happens, someone will be watching—and this time, the record might actually stick.
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