Nigeria telcos eligible to offer NIN verification for SIM card services

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced that telecommunications companies in the country have been cleared to provide verification services for the National Identification Number (NIN).

This follows the migration of these telcos to the digital ID authentication platform NINAuth by the ID authority, which says that the move is “a significant step forward in enhancing the security, efficiency, and user experience of NIN verification services.”

With this development, NIN holders can easily have their identity verified by telcos for services such as registering, swapping or migrating SIM cards. The NINAuth platform was unveiled in May.

“By migrating to this new platform, telecommunications firms can now provide uninterrupted verification services to their subscribers. This achievement is a result of NIMC’s painstaking efforts to put the power to control NIN data in the hands of the holders,” the NIMC said in a statement.

“The NINAuth platform enhances data protection, gives control of personal data to the owners, offers seamless verification, and provides convenient sign-on access to services. The Director, IT/IDD, NIMC, Engr Lanre Yusuf, confirmed that all telecommunications firms have been successfully migrated and uninterrupted verification services are being offered by the NIMC,” it added.

The MIMC also assured Nigerians of the functional state of its Verification and Authentication Service platforms which it says are accessible to all, but noted that all verification issues related to SIM cards should be directed to the telcos for prompt resolution.

The NINAuth platform recently suffered downtime but the NIMC says the issue was fixed and full services is available. In this latest statement, the ID management body also reiterated “its commitment to providing secure, efficient, and user-friendly digital identity services to Nigerians.”

The NIMC, meanwhile has also called on Nigerians to jealously preserve their personal information and not share it with anyone for a fee.

The body issued the caution in the wake of recent information from the anti-graft agency – the EFCC – that fraudsters were fooling unsuspecting citizens to sell their personal identity information for very meagre fees.

According to the NIMC, the revelation “is not only of serious security concern but of grave consequences on the NIN holders.”

It warned that it would not be held responsible for any personal data theft given that “Nigerians have been informed repeatedly in the past by the NIMC not to disclose their NIN to any unauthorised individual or organization.”

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  identity verification  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  National Identity Number (NIN)  |  Nigeria  |  NIMC NINAuth  |  telecom