March 17, 2024
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) on Sunday, March 17, said there was no incident of data breach regarding its National Identity Numbers (NIN) capturing by any of its vendors or outlets.
The commission maintained that media reports about an alleged breach of citizens’ data by a private organization, XpressVerify, had nothing to do with it.
“The Commission wishes to state that it offers NIN verification and other services through licensed partners. However, XpressVerify is not one of the Commission’s licensed partners”, NIMC said in a statement signed by its Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke.
The statement reads further: “We express our gratitude to our media partners and the whistleblowers for bringing this to our attention and wish to assure Nigerians and legal residents that there is no data breach of any sort and the Citizens’ data is safe and secure in Nigeria’s National identity database.
“The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote has promptly ordered a comprehensive investigation into the matter to find out if any of the Commission’s Tokenisation verification agents has in any way breached the licensing agreement either directly or through any of their sub-licensees.”
Engr Coker-Odusote affirmed the commitment of NIMC to data protection and privacy and assured that no stone will be left unturned in ensuring the safety and security of the data of all enrollees.
“‘Top-level security is in place to protect the NIN and other personal data of every citizen and legal resident”, she said.
She reaffirmed the unwavering dedication of NIMC to safeguarding, securing, and responsibly managing the data entrusted to it.
