The National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, on Friday disclosed that it had uncovered a syndicate of individuals selling fake National Identity Number, NIN.
NIMC stated that the syndicates are posing as employees of the Commission and issuing fake national identity numbers to unsuspecting Nigerians.
The Commission, however, pointed that some suspects had been arrested and were undergoing prosecution with relevant security agencies.
This was contained in a statement by the NIMC Director General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote. She made the disclosure while briefing journalists on Friday in Abuja.
The DG added that the Commission got wind of the issue after a customer complained that she had paid N120,000 to modify her birth certificate.
Speaking on the enrolment exercise, Odusote announced that over 107.34 million Nigerians had been enrolled into the NIN database as of May 2024. He stated that the figure is up from the 104 million recorded in December 2023.
Recall that the NIN, a unique identifier assigned to each citizen, has gained prominence in recent years. It has become the cornerstone of various government initiatives aimed at enhancing security, governance, and service delivery.
Explaining the mode of operation for the syndicate, Odusote explained that the individuals masqueraded as business vendors. She said, they operator cyber cafes, crafting links for unsuspecting individuals and developing software. They also fabricate fake NINs.
“This data doesn’t reach our server, resulting in numerous Nigerians falling victim to scams,” she added.
Odusote said a further clampdown on the syndicate led to the discovery of a group of individuals around its annex office.
The DG, however, declined to disclose details on the number of persons being interrogated. But she assured that as soon as the investigation was concluded, they would be prosecuted for cybercrimes.
“I am going to speak on extortion, data breach, and privacy. When we carried out our investigations, we discovered that around NIMC’s offices, people were parading as business vendors and cyber cafes. They were creating links for unsuspecting persons, designing software, and generating fake NINs for people. This data does not come to our server and a lot of Nigerians have been scammed.
“We will not allow them to parade as if they are part of us and they are not. A lot of people have lost money through this method.
“There is a case I got at our annex office. A lady approached me telling me that she had been extorted of over N120,000 to modify her birth certificate. And the person who extorted her was not an NIMC employee.”
source: PUNCH