The Federal Government has unveiled plans to roll out a nationwide digital postcode system to strengthen security, tackle fraud, improve emergency response, and boost e-commerce across the country.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, disclosed this on Monday at the National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode System Workshop themed, “Operationalising the Nigerian Digital Postcode for National Security and Public Safety,” held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre of the Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja.
Tijani said the initiative would assign a unique digital address to every building in Nigeria, including those in rural communities, enabling security agencies, businesses and public institutions to accurately identify and locate people and properties.
According to him, the first phase of the rollout will commence in October, with the government targeting coverage of several states before the end of the year.
He said, “The first set of locations, areas and states will be released in October this year, and I’m pushing them hard to ensure that we cover a significant number of states before the end of the year.”
The minister described the project as a critical national infrastructure designed to address one of Nigeria’s longstanding development challenges: the absence of a reliable and standardised addressing system.
“For those who participate in keeping our country safe, we all know that you are operating in an environment where timeliness, precision and coordination are at the core of security. This determines whether crimes are solved, whether threats are contained and whether people’s lives are saved or not,” he said.
Tijani noted that the lack of accurate address identification had complicated crime investigations, emergency services and identity verification processes, while creating loopholes that fraudsters could exploit.
“In some cases, evidence shows that it has enabled fraud because identity verification systems could not consistently anchor people to physical locations. So even when you know the people by their name or BVN, where do you go to find them? It is still a major problem,” he added.
He said the digital postcode system would improve intelligence gathering and operational efficiency for agencies such as the police, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
According to the minister, the platform will support faster emergency dispatch, more accurate crime scene identification, improved border monitoring, and stronger anti-money-laundering investigations through reliable address verification.
Tijani stressed that the initiative was not a pilot programme but a full-scale national rollout backed by the Federal Government.
“We’re not piloting; we’re actually launching a system. It is not a surveillance app. It is a national infrastructure,” he said.
He explained that the postcode project forms part of broader investments in digital infrastructure, including the ongoing deployment of 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable, construction of 3,700 telecommunications towers and efforts to strengthen satellite connectivity across the country.
The minister added that the new addressing system would complement Nigeria’s digital identity infrastructure and accelerate the growth of the digital economy.
He said the initiative would also transform logistics and online commerce by making deliveries faster and more precise.
Representing the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Laka, said the digital postcode initiative would significantly enhance national security and public safety.
He noted that the ability to accurately identify and locate persons, places and incidents would strengthen policing, intelligence gathering, emergency response, disaster management, border security and financial crime investigations.
“Whether in policing, intelligence gathering, emergency response, disaster management, border security, financial crime investigations or law enforcement operations, the ability to accurately identify and locate persons, places and incidents can significantly improve decision-making and response outcomes,” Laka said.
The Postmaster-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Postal Service, Ms Tola Odeyemi, said the system would be implemented with strong privacy safeguards and in collaboration with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.
“The information of citizens and businesses is confidential, and access is tiered on a need-to-know basis only. Not just everybody can access all information for people’s buildings and places of residence or doing business,” she said.
Odeyemi revealed that the government would embark on nationwide sensitisation campaigns involving security agencies, government institutions, technology companies and local communities ahead of the rollout.
She added that the digital postcode system could help reduce the huge economic losses associated with failed deliveries and inefficient logistics operations.
“Right now, in Nigeria, the cost of missed deliveries is anywhere from N50bn to N80bn for people just running around, drivers just running around, not knowing where to go,” she said.
According to her, Nigerians will be able to access the system through digital platforms, mobile applications and USSD channels, while an integrated AI-powered routing feature will enable businesses to estimate delivery costs and timelines more accurately.
The NIPOST boss said the initiative would improve planning, reduce operational costs for businesses and help government agencies better identify, locate and serve citizens across the country.
Earlier in March 2026, PUNCH Online reported that the Federal Executive Council approved the implementation of a Geographic Information System-enabled alphanumeric digital postcode system for Nigeria.
The new system would be implemented as part of efforts to deliver on the targets and priorities outlined in the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy’s Strategic Blueprint.
