Nigeria to collect biometrics from security guards to reduce crime

The Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) is planning to collect biometrics from security guards in the country, followed eventually by drivers and domestic staff, as part of its effort to curb crime, Nigerian daily The Guardian reports.

NSCDC Commandant General Abdullahi Gana told an audience of private security companies in Maiduguri that a bill co-sponsored by the NSCDC is currently before the national assembly which would require all security companies to be licensed by the agency, and all guards to be registered. He said that the measures would cut down on the crimes committed by foreigners associated with security companies, which has been a problem in the past.

“We need to have their biometric data. They must have referees so that we know whom they are in case of any incident,” Gana said.

He also said that domestic staff and drivers will eventually be included in the biometric registry as well, in order to reduce kidnappings.

“The army have won the war against Boko Haram insurgency; it is now left for us to win the peace,” Gana told the audience. “How do we do that? You need to assist us with intelligence information. Security is not just for the uniform men alone. All hands must be on deck to nip all forms of criminality in the bud.”

The Kwara State Government has tapped SmilePass to help it leverage facial recognition to secure its Universal Health Insurance Program, and Nigeria’s Minister of the Interior recently announced a project to register the biometrics of people entering the country to curb violence between herdsmen and farmers as biometrics adoption gathers momentum in Africa’s largest nation.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  data collection  |  identity verification