The World Bank has disbursed a substantial $45.5 million to Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) .
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the move was part of the Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project, aimed at increasing the enrollment of Nigerians for the National Identification Number (NIN).
The project’s implementation report, published by the World Bank, reveals that the funds were disbursed in multiple tranches between December 2021 and April 2024.
The $45.5 million released so far accounts for approximately 10.5% of the total project cost, estimated at $430 million. Despite this financial support, the project has been described as making ‘moderately satisfactory’ progress, with NIMC reporting that 107.3 million NINs had been issued by April this year.
A critical condition for the release of funds was the enactment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act in June last year, intended to ensure robust protection of collected data.
Despite this legislative milestone, there are significant concerns about the security of Nigerians’ data.
The advocacy group Paradigm Initiative has highlighted severe security flaws, pointing out that data from the NIN, Bank Verification Number (BVN), international passports, and other databases are being sold online.
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has yet to provide a public response to these allegations. Meanwhile, NIMC has repeatedly denied any breaches of its database.
In a recent statement, NIMC’s Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke, assured the public that stringent security measures are in place, and the data has not been compromised.
He highlighted the commission’s compliance with the ISO 27001:2013 Information Security Management System Standard, which is subject to annual recertification.
Earlier in March, a report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) alleged that the website expressverify.com had unrestricted access to the NIN database.
In response, NIMC restricted third-party access to its database, and NDPC launched an investigation. However, Paradigm Initiative’s recent findings indicate that unauthorized access continues, with websites such as AnyVerify.com.ng being involved in data breaches.
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