The Nigerian government has disclosed that 6,000 individuals from the Niger Republic unlawfully acquired National Identity Numbers (NIN).
A credible source within the presidency revealed that the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced during a briefing to the Federal Executive Council on Tuesday, February 4.
The minister further stated that Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has removed the 6,000 NINs from its database.
“The interior minister said NIMC is tidying up the database because they found over 6,000 people from the Niger Republic who obtained NIN. But they have been wiped from the database,” the source stated.
The source revealed that Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has been appointed to the special panel overseeing Nigeria’s humanitarian ministry, which manages conditional cash transfers and other welfare programs.
The Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Bisoye Coker-Odusote, confirmed the development, emphasizing that the agency is committed to ensuring transparency and accuracy in government payments, especially for humanitarian initiatives.
The issue of fraudulent and illegal National Identity Numbers (NINs) is not new.
On October 13, 2022, the Defence Headquarters in Abuja announced that troops, in collaboration with the Nigeria Police and Nigeria Immigration Service operatives, had intercepted two suspected fake NIMC officials.
At the time, Major General Musa Danmadami, Director of Defence Media Operations, issued a statement addressing the situation.
“It was revealed that the suspects had visited the Gagamari IDP camp in the Niger Republic to register non-Nigerians in the IDP camp,” Danmadami said.
This follows reports that fraudulent agents were charging non-Nigerian citizens, mainly from neighboring countries like the Niger Republic, to illegally acquire Nigerian NINs.
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