Digital ID necessity increases in Nigeria despite lingering challenges

Access to all social services in Nigeria will henceforth be mandatorily tied to the National Identification Number (NIN). This follows a recent decision of the country’s federal government, according to many local reports.

The move, announced by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Geroge Akume, comes as the country struggles to meet up with the demands of a World Bank-funded project which requires the government to issue at least 180 million digital IDs by the end of 2026. Further, reports of thousands of foreigners registered for the national ID and improper linkages between mobile accounts and NINs show that the challenges do not end with issuance.

Akume, who was speaking through a representative during an inter-ministerial meeting to discuss the Nigeria Digital Identification for Development (Nigeria ID4D) initiative, said increasing the issuance of the NIN is a key priority of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agenda, Nairametrics narrates.

Also the project ecosystem steering committee chairman of the Nigeria ID4D, Akume said in order to drive stronger NIN adoption, government agencies and other partners must show maximum collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in order to implement the reforms needed to build a more sturdy and inclusive digital ID system.

A representative of the NIMC Director General at the meeting also reiterated the need for collaboration, adding that the exchanges during the retreat underscored not only the success already attained with the digital ID initiative but also the need to engage more inventive approaches aimed at expanding digital ID coverage.

“We are confident that with sustained inter-agency collaboration and support from all critical stakeholders, we will fast-track our mission to reposition the national identity system, making it more robust and inclusive, ensuring that every Nigerian and legal resident has a verifiable digital identity and that no one is left behind,” the NIMC official was quoted as saying.

Already, Nigeria is using the NIN to build a social register to facilitate the distribution of government cash support within the framework of a humanitarian outreach program. The country is also planning to set up a farmers register, a project linked to the imminent introduction of a three-in-one biometric ID card to be issued through banks.

As Nigeria advances its digital ID issuance efforts, one of the issues the country faces is fraud, which has led to hundreds of non-citizens obtaining the ID number.

Recently, information emerged that about 6,000 citizens from Niger Republic have been issued NINs, which is exclusive to Nigerian citizens.

Daily Post reports that information about this development was disclosed by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, during a recent Federal Executive Council meeting at the presidency.

This discovery, Punch says, has led to President Tinubu directing a probe and an audit of the national identity database. The Interior Minister affirmed that measures have been taken to withdraw the NINs from the illegal holders, while a further clean-up of the database is ongoing. It is also reported that physical items were seized from the suspects in a joint operation involving security forces.

Meanwhile, there is information that Tinubu has also called for light to be shed on allegations of wrongdoing by some telecom providers in relation to SIM card registration. Subscribers’ accounts were allegedly connected to NINs, sometimes belonging to other people, without their consent. Punch reports that the president has put in place an inter-ministerial committee to probe into the claims.

Nigeria ran an intense SIM registration campaign between 2020 and 2024, with the country’s Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) claiming in October that all active SIM cards in the country had been identified.

Article Topics

Africa  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  fraud prevention  |  government services  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  National Identity Number (NIN)  |  Nigeria