The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has attributed the difficulty in tracking kidnappers through the NIN-SIM linkage to criminals’ use of their victims’ mobile phones during ransom negotiations.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Dr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, made the clarification during an interview on Channels Television, monitored by Persecondnews on Sunday, while discussing the newly signed National Identity Management Commission Act, 2026.
She said criminals who do not use their own identities or mobile devices make it harder for security agencies to leverage the national identity system during investigations.
“A lot of the times the kidnappers use the phones of the people that they have abducted. So how do you trace them first of all? Because they’re not using their own phones, ” he said.
Coker-Odusote also noted that some criminal elements involved in kidnapping may not be enrolled in Nigeria’s national identity database.
“There is this theory that some kidnappers are not Nigerians and they are brought in just before the kidnapping happens. Then naturally we won’t have them on the database.”
She, however, said security agencies are already using the Commission’s identity platform to support investigations and other security operations across the country.
“A lot of the security agencies are integrated and they are using it, and it helps them in terms of fighting crime,” she added.
On the new law, the NIMC boss described it as a major reform that replaces the 19-year-old Act and strengthens Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem.
She said the legislation has established NIMC as Nigeria’s foundational identity authority, allowing government databases to be harmonised under a single trusted identity system.
“The new Act basically cements NIMC’s role as the foundational harmonised identity for Nigeria. It speaks to one identity for all.”
According to her, the 2007 Act no longer reflected current realities because it contained limited provisions on data protection, cybersecurity and emerging digital technologies
“The old law was outdated. Nineteen years is way too long. We had to align with global best practices and advancements in technology.”
Coker-Odusote also said the Act makes the National Identification Number mandatory for every Nigerian while expanding identity registration to include women, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly.
She disclosed that 137,371,080 Nigerians had been enrolled as of Sunday and that President Bola Tinubu had directed the Commission to register every Nigerian before the end of the year.
“The President has given us till the end of this year to make sure that we capture every single Nigerian through expanded ward and community enrollment.”
The NIMC chief also dismissed claims that the Commission’s database had suffered a cyber breach, insisting fraudsters often operate fake enrolment centres that mislead unsuspecting Nigerians.
She encouraged citizens to register only through authorised NIMC centres and use the NINAuth application to securely manage their identity information and control consent before sharing personal data.
Persecondnews recalls that President Tinubu had recently signed the National Identity Management Commission Act, 2026, expanding the Commission’s powers, strengthening data protection and cybersecurity provisions, and designating NIMC as Nigeria’s Root Certification Authority for the country’s digital public infrastructure.