Dr Bosun Tijani speaks on NIN slips being purchased for N100

Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, has officially responded to reports concerning the alleged purchase of his National Identification Number (NIN) slip for N100 on a now-defunct website.

Paradigm Initiative, a civil society organization, raised alarm that some unauthorised websites were claiming to hold and provide access to sensitive personal and financial data of Nigerian citizens for as little as 100 Naira. NIMC then officially issued a press statement mentioned 5 websites that are involved in unauthorized data harvesting.

According to the Minister in a post on his “X” handle,

“First, 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. Second, the @ndpcngr, a year old agency under my supervision as minister, has over the last few months created data compliance mechanisms for all MDAs and has since started a thorough investigation as to the circumstances surrounding this alleged breach.”

The Minister went further to add that “Having established that, I do believe that it is important to share the proactive steps I have taken upon appointment to help strengthen technology application in government, despite the historical siloed approach to procurement and development.”

“For context, in October 2023, a few weeks after my appointment, I released a whitepaper (which you can find here – https://b.link/NigeriaDPI), elucidating my position on technology application within the public service and our proposed approach to leveraging existing investment in technology to accelerate economic prosperity through improved government processes.”

NIMC maintains that “the data of Nigerians has not been compromised, and the Commission has not authorised any website or entity to sell or misuse the National Identification Number (NIN) amongst all the identities stated in the report.”