Fresh alarm on illegal data harvesting in Nigeria

Digital rights advocacy organization, Paradigm Initiative (PIN), has raised fresh concerns about the surreptitious sale of personal data in Nigeria.

In a press release issued last week, the organization warned that personal information was still being stolen and peddled on the dark web.

PIN said the data in question includes those of high-profile personalities such as the President, the Vice President Kashim Shettima, the National Security Adviser, and other top military and cabinet members.

The data of these personalities can be accessed just with knowledge of their full names and dates of birth, PIN’s Executive Director, Gbenga Sesan, revealed at a recent press conference.

“All the way to the top, including the presidency, people’s NIN slips are being sold. This is a major risk, not only because this information should be private, but because it can be used to impersonate, get SIM cards, or even take loans,” local daily Leadership quoted the CEO as lamenting.

Sesan added that personal information available for sale include National Identification Numbers (NIN) of these personalities and millions of Nigerians, passport photos, telephone numbers, and home addresses, among others.

The organization also accused the Nigerian government of treating the data breach matter with levity.

PIN also decried other digital rights challenges Nigerians face including issues of weak or unaffordable internet services which are largely hampering digital connectivity.

This is not the first time PIN has called out the Nigerian government over the exposure of personal identity data by unauthorized website. Last year, the outfit said some of the data was being sold for sums as paltry as 100 Naira, around seven cents.

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has always denied responsibility for that, urging Nigerians to be the first protectors of their own personal data.

Recently, the country’s anti-graft agency (EFCC) made arrests after it found that stolen NINs were being bought to carry out financial fraud.

Article Topics

Africa  |  data protection  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  National Identity Number (NIN)  |  Nigeria