- Minister Bosun Tijani has expressed confidence that the report of alleged data breach by Paradigm Initiative will be addressed by the Ministry of Interior and the NIMC
- The report sparked outrage among netizens over data privacy rights
- Among the issues the report raised is that of citizens’ data harmonisation currently being handled by eight different collection and storage agencies of the government
Following the report by Paradigm Initiative of an online platform, which has now been taken down, commercialising Nigerians' data for a N100 fee, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has expressed confidence that the Ministry of Interior and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will address the issue.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter),Tijani on Wednesday wrote, “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.”
Recall that Paradigm Initiative, through its Executive Director, Gbenga Sesan, also revealed that Tijani's and other prominent Nigerians' National Identification Numbers (NINs) were bought from the website for N100 each.
Although the NIMC has issued a rebuttal to the report and Tijani said the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), an agency under his supervision, has started an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the alleged breach, the disclosure by Paradigm Initiative sparked outrage from netizens who called for explanation from NIMC and other data management agencies in the country.
List of Nigerian data collection, storage agencies
Among the concerns of data privacy rights the issue has sparked among Nigerians is the need for a harmonised data collection, storage and management system.
For context, there are at least eight agencies of the Federal Government with the mandate to collect, store and manage citizens’ data for various purposes, apart from those operational in states.
TheRadar presents major data collection and storage agencies in the country and the type of ID they issue:
1. National Identity Management Commission (NIMC): The commission was established in 2007 by the NIMC Act No 23. Its mandate is to establish, own, operate, maintain, and manage the national identity database in Nigeria. The NIMC is responsible for issuing the NIN, a unique identification number for every citizen.
2. Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC): The NCC, established in 2003 following the passage of the Nigeria Communications Act, 2003, is the regulatory authority for communications and telecommunications sector.
It is authorised to develop regulatory policies and regulations, process applications for licences, oversee communications operations, assign radio frequency numbers, regulate broadcast contents, setting info-communications security standards and regulations, among other responsibilities.
The agency collects and stores data for Subscriber Identity/Identification Module (SIM) through various telecommunications companies in the country.
3. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and financial institutions: Nigeria’s apex bank is the regulatory authority in the banking sector. Alongside financial institutions in the country, it oversees the collection, storage and management of Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).
4. Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS): An agency under the Ministry of Interior, the Nigeria Immigration Service was established by the Immigration Act, 1963, CAP II Laws of the Federation 2004. It is responsible for controlling entry into and departure from Nigeria and monitoring non-Nigerians in the country, executing deportation and repatriation orders, manning all national border posts, implementing Nigeria’s visa regime, and issuing and controlling all travel documents, among other functions. The NIS issues the Nigerian passport.
5. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC): The commission was established by Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution. It is responsible for, among other functions, arranging and conducting the registration of persons qualified to vote and preparing, maintaining and revising the register of voters for the purpose of any election. INEC issues qualified citizens with Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
6. Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC): The FRSC was created in February 1988 through Decree 45 but the Act establishing it was passed by the National Assembly in 2007. Among other responsibilities, such as preventing or minimising accidents on highways, educating motorists and the public on proper use of highways, designing and producing vehicle number plates, the corps designs and produces driver’s license to be used for various categories of vehicle operators.
7. National Population Commission (NPC): Apart from the periodic enumeration of the population of Nigeria through census, the NPC, established in accordance with the provisions of Section 153 (j) of Nigeria’s constitution, also maintains and conducts continuous and universal registration of births and deaths and issues birth and death certificates in the respective cases.
8. Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS): The FIRS is responsible for assessing, collecting, remitting and accounting for all taxes due to the Federal Government and also issues Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) to taxpayers.
“More harm than good”: NIMC’s 3-in-1 card announcement does not excite Nigerians
Meanwhile, TheRadar had reported that Nigerians are not enthusiastic about the 3-in-1 identification card recently proposed by the NIMC.
They expressed doubt over the commission's capacity to carry out such a technology-driven initiative owing to frustrations from previous exercises.
