Tinubu Govt Probes Alleged Data Breach Of Nigerians

President Bola Tinubu

The Tinubu-led government is probing an alleged breach of Nigerians’ National Identity Number (NIN) database.

In a statement on Sunday, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) said it is investigating the alleged breach with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

The Commission said it received, with concern, media reports pertaining to illegal access to NIN’s database by a private organisation, XpressVerify.com

The report found that the private website had unrestricted access to every registered Nigerian’s National Identification Numbers (NIN) and personal details and has monetised the recovery of NINs and personal information.

In a statement on Sunday, NIMC disclosed that while it offers NIN verification and other services through licensed partners, XpressVerify is not one of them.

It noted that its Chief Executive Officer, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the allegation, stating that it has not recorded a data breach yet.

The Commission said the probe would determine whether any of its tokenisation verification agents has breached the licensing agreement directly or through any of its sub-licensees.

It said, “Top-level security is in place to protect the NIN and other personal data of every citizen and legal resident.”

For its part, the NDPC disclosed that NIMC has agreed to cooperate with it as they both try to determine the root of the allegation.

It also vowed to review existing mediums through which any entity may lawfully verify the identity of enrollees on NIMC’s platform.

The commission added that the preliminary findings of the investigation would be made public within seven days.

“NDPC will work with relevant agencies to audit the trails of the alleged unauthorized data processing and monetization of same, and those who are found culpable for violating the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 will be brought to justice,” it stated.