How I Was Extorted By Identity Commission, NIMC After They Made Error On My Slip – Nigerian Man Laments

Over the years, the process of procuring the new National Identity Number (NIN) card has been fraught with complaints from Nigerians as many have complained of extortion and other issues.

Many allege extortion by workers of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), while many complain about the incompetent of the staff handling the process.

The National Identification Number (NIN) is the unique number which identifies a citizen for life and is issued by NIMC after one’s enrollment.

One of the complainants, a middle aged man, who spoke with SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity, said the person that registered him made a mistake in the writing format of his date of birth, which made his date of birth got missed on the NIN slip, when it was printed.

 He asserted that this made his slip not to be useful for any transaction.

According to him, he didn't discover the problem until last year when a bank told him that the NIN was faulty.

He said he was forced to travel from Ilesa to Osogbo the state headquarters of NIMC in Osun State.

He said, “The person that registered me did not tell me that my date of birth needed to start with day but he registered with month first; (instead of 01/10/1971, he put 10/01/1971.

"Eventually when the paper came out, no date of birth there, perhaps I would have taken a step to change. I discovered the error when I wanted to use it as identification card for a transaction, and every time, it will be rejected. I will need to use either my international passport or voter card.

"After much explanation, I was told to pay N15,000 to Abuja headquarters through remittance. But I was disappointed that it would take three months; that is, from November to January ending.

"Since then I have been parading Osogbo till today, to no avail. Does it really  mean we cannot even get one thing right in this country?"

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) had in March 2021 tasked Nigerians to report any act of extortion and other vices by its staff at any National Identity Number enrolment centre.

This was made known by the Director-general of NIMC Engr. Aliyu Aziz in a statement signed by head, corporate communications Kayode Adegoke, noting that NIMC reiterated its zero tolerance to corruption, fraudulent activities, and extortion in the process of enrollment and other activities.

“The Commission, recently, suspended some staff and terminated the appointment of a few others who engaged in acts of extortion and unwholesome practices detrimental to its values.

“NIMC wishes to reiterate its zero tolerance to corruption, fraudulent activities, and extortion in the process of enrolment and other activities. NIMC is a responsible and responsive Commission that pursues the highest ethical standard in the discharge of its functions,” he said.

The Commission had also called on the general public to desist from being enablers of extortion as it would not condone any act capable of destroying its hard-earned integrity.