Nigerian Minister Reacts after His NIN Was Allegedly Purchased Online For N100

• The minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has responded to the alleged leak of his NIN slip online
• The minister disclosed that he has contacted Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo over the alleged data breach
• The development follows a revelation by a civil society organization that Nigerians’ data are being sold cheaply online

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.

The minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has reacted officially following the alleged purchase of his National Identification Number (NIN) slip for N100 on a website.

The mnister stated that he had contacted the minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, concerning the issue.

Interior ministry begins investigation

Tijani said he is confident that the Ministry and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will address the issue. 

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Tijani said:

“I have engaged my colleague, the Minister of Interior, who supervises the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and I am aware that his ministry and the agency are on top of the matter,” Tijani said on Wednesday in a post on X.   

Tijani makes case for data-sharing

The Minister neither confirmed nor denied the development and said the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has begun an investigation to uncover the alleged data breach.

According to reports, Tijani stressed the need for a better digital public infrastructure and the need for data exchange across MDAs to boost Nigeria’s cybersecurity supervision.

Report exposes fraudulent site selling NINs

An earlier report by Legit.ng reveals that the NIMC has identified and listed five websites allegedly fraudulently harvesting and selling Nigerians’ data.

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This development follows an alarm raised by Paradigm Initiative that some websites are selling Nigerians' National Identification Numbers (NINs), Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), and passport data online.

Names of websites selling private data

NIMC disclosed this in a statement issued by its Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke, on Saturday, June 22, 2024.

Adegoke listed the sites to include:

• idfinder.com.ng,  
• Verify.Ng/sign in,  
• championtech.com.ng.  
• trustyonline.com, and  
• anyverify.com.   

NIMC unveils amount Nigerians will pay to modify NIN Data

Legit.ng previously reported that the NIMC has said Nigerians no longer have to go to the National Identification Number (NIN) enrolment center to modify their NIN record.

According to the commission in a recent tweet, citizens can modify their date of birth, name, address, email, and phone number on the NIMC's self-service application.

Modification of name, date of birth, address, and email will cost N1,522, N16,340, N1,522, and N1,522 respectively.

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Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng

Source: Legit.ng