The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced increased scrutiny on its licensees following a recent incident involving unauthorized NIN verification by expressverify.com. An investigation into the matter has revealed that a third-party, originally authorized to provide verification services, may have allowed expressverify.com to use its NIN verification credentials without proper authorization.
In response to this breach, NIMC has taken swift action by temporarily blocking all forms of access to its database. While this move was necessary to address security concerns, it also impacted legitimate verification requests. After a thorough review, limited access has now been granted to select establishments providing essential public services such as education and security.
Authorities are currently conducting investigations to determine how expressverify.com obtained the credentials of authorized third parties and to establish accountability in accordance with the existing laws. Moving forward, all licensees will undergo rigorous scrutiny, and only those demonstrating regulatory compliance will be permitted to conduct NIN verification.
In addition to these measures, NDPC (National Data Protection Commission) will be organizing intensive training sessions to ensure that personnel and licensees understand their responsibilities under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, NIMC’s Privacy Policy, and other relevant regulations.
Babatunde Bamigboye, Head of Legal, Enforcement, and Regulations at NDPC, emphasized the importance of the NIN as a crucial data point for sustainable development. He urged the public to remain vigilant when sharing personal information online and highlighted ongoing efforts to enhance technical and organizational safeguards for data protection.
