The National Identity Management Commission says it has reduced incidents of extortion and unofficial charges in the identity enrolment process by over 40 per cent.
This milestone comes as the number of Nigerians registered for the National Identification Number has risen to 122 million, marking a 49 per cent increase since January 2022, when enrolment stood at 72.7 million.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote disclosed this on Friday during the closing session of a two-day workshop with online newspaper publishers, held in Lagos. The CEO was represented by NIMC’s Director, Information Technology and Identity Database, Lanre Yusuf.
The workshop, organised by the identity regulator in partnership with the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, focused on repositioning Nigeria’s digital identity landscape and combating misinformation.
According to Coker-Odusote, the sharp reduction in illicit charges is a direct result of reforms introduced by NIMC to curb racketeering and unauthorised payments, which have for years plagued the national identity registration process..
“Enrolment for the National Identification Number remains free. We have standardised modification and authentication fees, and these are publicly disclosed. Our enforcement of a transparent fee structure has resulted in a 40 per cent drop in extortion and unofficial charges,” the regulator said.
She explained that prior to her assumption of office, complaints about exploitative fees at enrolment centres were widespread, fuelling public distrust in the system.