The National Identity Management Commission has denied reports circulating online that Nigeria’s National Identification Number database has been compromised.
The commission, in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke, shared on its X handle on Thursday, described the reports as false and said the video being circulated was an old report from 2024.
According to NIMC, the same claim had previously been discredited.
“The Commission National Identity Database has not been breached or compromised at any point,” the statement said.
The commission said it had deployed multiple layers of security measures to protect the personal information of Nigerians and other legally resident individuals registered in the national identity system.
It also cautioned members of the public against sharing unverified information capable of causing confusion or unnecessary alarm.
“NIMC urges the public to disregard the video’s content and obtain information about the National Identity Management System only from NIMC’s official channels,” it said.
The commission further drew attention to its NIN Authentication service, NINAuth, which provides web, application programming interface and mobile-based identity verification services.
NIMC said the system was designed to improve the protection of personal information by requiring the consent of NIN holders before their data is released for Know Your Customer procedures or other verification purposes.
“With NINAuth, individuals can securely verify their identity for services such as SIM registration, immigration and passport processing, tax filings, and financial transactions—without unnecessarily exposing their raw NIN or personal data,” the commission said.
NIMC said the initiative was part of efforts to align its operations with the NIMC Act 2026 and the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, particularly on the lawful and transparent handling of personal information.
The commission reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding identity data and said it would continue collaborating with relevant security agencies to strengthen its systems and counter misinformation about the national identity database.
