The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has strongly denied and condemned circulating reports that associate it with individuals allegedly involved in selling the personal data of victims — including Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and the National Identity Number (NIN) — to Fintech companies.
In a statement released on Sunday by its Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke, NIMC clarified that it will not be held “liable for the sharing of personal data.”
“The National Identity Management Commission has noted with serious concern the recent statement on Nigerians selling their personal information, including that of the National Identification Number (NIN), attributed to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
“The statement by EFCC that ‘this fraud scheme is largely driven by an army of young Nigerians offering a paltry payment of between N1500 and N2000 to their victims to make them surrender a copy of their personal information details to them and sell the same information to some Fintech Institutions for about N5000’ is not only of serious security concern but of grave consequences on the NIN holders.
“The NIMC wishes to state clearly that it will not be held responsible for any personal information shared by an individual directly or by proxy for the purpose of financial gain or inducement,” the statement added.
This response follows the EFCC’s disclosure last Friday, in which it revealed that certain individuals were selling victims’ BVN and NIN data to Fintech institutions for about ₦5,000 — a fraud scheme the commission says is currently under investigation.
NIMC reiterated its warning to Nigerians not to share their NIN with any unauthorized person or body, emphasizing that any NIN presented for services must be properly verified before such services are provided.
The agency also encouraged the public to download the NINAuth App from either the Apple iOS or Google Play Store, highlighting its benefits, which include enhanced NIN protection, user control over personal data, and other useful features.