The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced that it has enrolled over 120 million people in the National Identity Database.
NIMC director general Abisoye Odutose-Coker disclosed this at a press conference at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, where it launched an online application, NINAuth, to secure the nation’s Digital Identity Database (DIDB).
NINAuth, an authentication tool, will also enable seamless and secure verification of the National Identification Number (NIN) across government services and agencies.
Coker urged Nigerians to download the app from the Google Play Store or the Apple ios App Store to verify their identity for services such as SIM registration, passport processing, tax filings, driver’s license renewals, and access to government intervention programs.
The app is the exclusive platform mandated by the federal government for all NIN-based verification and authentication processes, promoting transparency, privacy, and user autonomy in digital identity management.
The director general stated that NIMC has boosted staff capacity during her tenure, training over 1,000 personnel last year. She also said internal corruption in the agency had reduced by 40 per cent.
She warned the public against inputting data on fake NIMC apps, saying that enrollment has been made easier with the NIN Auth app, which was released last week.
Coker said her office was collaborating with the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Police Anti-Cyber Unit to tackle cyber fraud. She added that arrests had been made, and prosecutions were ongoing to strengthen cybersecurity.
She said NIMC has automated most of its processes for ease of monitoring and expanded its infrastructure capacity to better serve Nigerians in the last two years.
According to the NIMC boss, charges for data modifications were increased while verifications were decreased, which led to the recently reviewed prices.
Coker said: The prices were too high, so we removed them. There were all sorts of prices over there. People were extorting citizens with outrageous prices.
“NIN enrollment is free. But if you want to modify your data for any reason, you must pay more. Some prices were reviewed downwards and others upwards.
“In terms of verification, the prices were reviewed downwards but upwards in terms of modifications.”
