Nigeria celebrates ID Day with digital ID self-enrollment app launch

Nigeria launched a new app with contactless fingerprint biometrics to allow people to carry out self-service enrollment to the country’s digital ID over the weekend, in recognition of International Identity Day.

The mobile application was unveiled by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) during the fifth celebration of Identity Day in the capital Abuja, reports TheCable.

The national identification number (NIN) includes fingerprint and face biometrics, and NIMC has also launched the Mobile Contactless Biometric Solution (MCBS) for field agents to collect them. The kit includes a custom mobile device and accessories.

The “NIMC Self-service NIN Enrollment and Digital ID” app can also be used to update records.

NIMC CEO and Director General Abisoye Coker-Odusote argued that “reliable identity” is “a fundamental right,” and emphasized the importance of privacy, data protection and universal inclusivity, Premium Times reports. She also referred to the continuing drive to upgrade Nigeria’s digital public infrastructure.

Odusote stated an intention to ease enrollment for the national digital ID earlier in September. More than 100 million people currently have a NIN.

“As a member of the ministry of interior family, NIMC joins with other sister agencies in not only improving access by the general public to services like passport acquisition and renewal but also the likes of efficient border security technology, effective handling of insecurity around the country, protection of critical national assets and infrastructure, reformation and reintegration of rehabilitated offenders in the society as well as improved emergency and fire response times,” Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said during the unveiling.

Tunji-Ojo also called for the harmonization of all identity and related data held by the government, as a means of improving government planning and the efficiency of the economy. That would mean integrating NIN data with driver’s licenses and passports, Bank Verification Numbers and the national SIM registration, according to The Nation.

The self-service app could help mitigate problems with NIN registration and updates related to delays and alleged corruption on the part of low-level officials.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  digital ID  |  mobile app  |  national ID  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  National Identity Number (NIN)