Nigerian students registering for public exams face digital ID obtention hassles

The sufferings of Nigerian students in the State of Lagos seeking the National Identification Number (NIN) in order to facilitate their registration for some public exanimations have been laid bare.

A report by Tribune Online notes that the NIN issuance process in Lagos, like in other parts of the country, is blighted by several irregularities such as extortion and that’s severely penalising students seeking the identity credential.

Reports of extortion and delays in the issuance of NIN in Nigeria are not new, but this dimension highlighting the ordeal faced by students further takes the lid off a situation which authorities are grappling with.

In Nigeria, the NIN is a requirement for students registering for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), as well as those seeking to take exams managed by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

As chronicled by the Tribune Online article, hundreds of students stream to NIN registration centers in Lagos daily either for fresh NIN enrollemt or modification, but what they meet is pure frustration as they are often asked to pay sums of money they do not even have.

As much as 25, 000 Naira (US$16) is demanded from poor students – those seeking to modify their NIN details, the article notes, a situation which further compounds a problem that also includes technical glitches in the capture of biometrics from student who intend to have a NIN enrollment for the first time.

With regard to NIN capture for first-timers, it is reported that some officials of the National Identification Management Commission (NIMC), in collusion with agents, request between 3,000 Naira (US$2) and 12,000 (US$8) from students to facilitate their NIN enrollment, including by jumping queues.

Parents in many Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state have also been expressing deep concerns over the difficulties their children are made to go through. One of them, quoted by the publication, fears that her daughter may be unbale to register for WAEC exams by deadline this month-end “as a result of her inability to be enrolled of the NIN.”

For those seeking NIN modification, an error message is what they receive at every try, making the whole process frustrating.

Recently, the NIMC Executive Director, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, reiterated her stand against extortion in the NIN registration process, ordering a revalidation exercise of third-party enrollment partners after receiving a litany of complaints in this regard.

Article Topics

Africa  |  digital ID  |  identity document  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  National Identity Number (NIN)  |  Nigeria