The Director General of the National Identity Management Commission, Abisoye Coker Odusote, has explained why terrorists and kidnappers often escape detection through Nigeria’s National Identification Number system, ValidViewNetwork reports.
ValidViewNetwork reports that she spoke during Sunday Politics on Channels Television.
Criminals use victims’ phones
Coker Odusote said many kidnappers avoid detection by using the mobile phones of their victims.
She said, “We already know the NIN is the foundational identity for the security architecture.”
She added, “A lot of the time, you find out the kidnappers use the phones of the people they have abducted.”
According to her, this makes tracing suspects more difficult because they avoid their own registered phone lines.
Foreign suspects remain a possibility
Coker Odusote also raised another possible challenge.
She said, “There is a theory that it may be possible that these kidnappers are not Nigerians.”
She added, “They are brought into the country 48 or 72 hours before a kidnapping takes place.”
She continued, “I’m not insinuating anything.”
She said such suspects would not appear in the NIMC database if that theory proved correct.
She added, “Those are some of the scenarios we have.”
NIN remains Nigeria’s identity foundation
ValidViewNetwork reports that the National Identification Number is an 11 digit unique identity number.
The National Identity Management Commission issues the number to Nigerians and legal residents.
The NIN operates under the National Identity Management Commission Act, 2007.
It serves as Nigeria’s foundational digital identity for public and private services.
Government expands NIN usage
The Federal Government has linked SIM cards to the NIN.
The policy aims to strengthen identity verification.
It also seeks to improve criminal investigations and reduce crime.
Citizens also need the NIN for passport applications.
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The number supports bank account opening and driver’s licence processing.
Several government programmes also require the NIN.
NIMC clarifies its role
Coker Odusote stressed that the NIN is an identity management system.
She said it is not a surveillance tool.
She added that successful tracking requires cooperation among security agencies, telecom operators, and other relevant institutions.
Her remarks highlight both the strengths and limits of Nigeria’s identity management system, while underscoring that defeating kidnapping and terrorism requires coordinated action beyond the NIN database, ValidViewNetwork reports.