Nigerians are presently lamenting untold hardships caused by the National Identity Number (NIN) registration under the supervision of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) headed by Engr. Abisoye Odusote-Coker.
The Commission is presently one of the most corrupt government owned agency in Nigeria as citizens of the most populous Black Nation are languishing in pain.
The sensitive nature and government directives stipulating full compliance have paved way for the management and staff of NIMC to walk to the banks smiling in the aftermaths of shady dealings and fraudulent engagement.
The staff of this commission alongside their agents operating from designated business centers (cyber cafes) and enrollment centers across the federation are extorting Nigerians to the detriment of the poor masses.
Due to widespread complaints by innocent Nigerians, our team of investigative journalists visited one of the major enrollment centers in the Capital City of Nigeria located on Tamare street, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja.
Our team of investigators met two security guards on duty at the enrollment center which was obviously deserted as a ploy to lure unsuspecting Nigerians to bribe their ways for speedy registration, correction of details on the portal or reprinting of NIN registration slips.
Our team (including a baby of 11 months and the mother) entered the premises disguising as clients for a new registration of the NIN.
One of the Security Guards who went further to brief our team enquired:
“Yes, how can I help you?” he asked as he was busy chewing fried groundnuts.
“I want to register my child”, one of our investigators answered.
“You mean a fresh registration or correction of information?” he asked as his face beamed with smiles of deceit.
The female investigator who was carrying the baby explained further insisting she wants to do a fresh registration for her child.
The guard narrated how there is no network connection in that particular location (4 Tamare street, Wuse Zone 4) however, he said there are two options.
1. Going to join the long queue opposite the headquarters of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) or
2. Going to a business center beside the office of the Federal Road Safety Commission in Wuse, Zone 3 to pay and enroll.
Note: The Security Guard led the way to both locations.
The deserted NIN Registration Center located at 4 Tamare Street, Wuse Zone 3
At the first location, Opposite NCS HQ we saw a large crowd of Nigerians especially teenagers who are about sitting for the 2024 WASSCE or registering for 2024 UTME (JAMB) visibly looking stranded under the scorching sun waiting for their turns to gain access into the building for capturing and enrollment.
At that particular location, the enrollment is free of charge according to the Guard.
Our team requested for the other means of registration and he was visibly elated as he led the way to the Business Center beside FRSC.
This is no. 4 Tamare Street where unsuspecting Nigerians are redirected to meet their accomplice in a nearby business center
At the Center, we met seven adults and two teenagers sitting and waiting for their turn. The Cafe Agent who was either smart or perhaps had pity on the infant who we disguised for enrollment later agreed to accept the sum of 5,000 naira after much pleas and bargain.
However, the Cafe Agent hinted that children are usually registered between the hours of 9-10am. He advised us to “come tomorrow” and gave a member of our team his MTN phone number (0703***253*) requesting the parent of the child to call him later in the day for further discussion.
Our team returned to the other center opposite NCS HQ and observed the ugly trend of Nigerians suffering in vain.
Unfortunately, one of the cyber cafe agents go around telling citizens on the queue to save themselves the stress by patronizing the business center. He goes further to discourage these unsuspecting Nigerians by telling them “some people captured since November last year, up till now their number is not out“.
SPY News Nigeria further investigated the sincerity of purpose of the Commission through a recent check on NIMC X handle (formerly Twitter) and came across a Press Release titled, “NIN ENROLLMENT: NIMC DISTRIBUTES MORE SYSTEMS TO STATES FOR OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY”.
According to the Press Statement, NIMC DG/CEO Engr. Abisoye Odusote- Coker has approved the distribution of additional enrolment systems to all the states as part of steps to ease NIN enrolment challenges and increase operational capacity.
The provision of additional enrolment devices underscores the commitment of the DG/CEO to streamline operations and enhance overall effectiveness.
“The systems have since been installed and in use across all the states and have not only resulted in the reduction of time spent by applicants but has also increased the number of applicants attended to daily.
Engr Abisoye Coker-Odusote has also sent out monitoring and evaluation teams across various centres nationwide to ensure a smooth running of enrolment and modification exercises.
The team will also ensure strict compliance with her zero tolerance stance against all forms of extortion and unethical practices. Engr Coker-Odusote has emphasized that her administration will not condone extortion of applicants and has since directed that any staff found wanting will be dealt with in line with the provisions of the constitution and extant Public Service Rules.
She requests that any applicant extorted should report such incident to the following official channels:
While SPY News Nigeria is giving the Commission benefits of doubts by delving further to expose further shady dealings in the coming weeks, we urge the CEO, Engr. Abisoye Odusote- Coker to ensure discipline amongst the staff of the Commission under her watch.
Efforts should also be made to allow most of the agents have access to network connection in order to enroll Nigerians without hitches.
Our team also visited one of the NIN enrollment centers located in Mogadishu Cantonment (Abacha Barrack), Abuja. At the center, only two of the computer systems were working with less crowd compared to Wuse Zone 3. The Enrollment Officers were courteous and did not demand for any bribe to carry out their duties perhaps because the center is located in a military environment.
Meanwhile, some Nigerians have taken to their X handle to complain of the hardships they encountered in the course of registration:
According to Dean Uzoma on X, “To be honest, you NIMC is frustrating lots of Nigerians right now. So many candidates will not be able to register for the ongoing 2024 JAMB due to NIN issues. The worst, your state offices keep collecting money to get people enrolled for what should be FREE”.
Another Nigerian, Adewale Omo Komolafe also expressed his aggression in a reply to NIMC on X, “You and your team are very Uselezsssss. For all suffering people are facing in Nigeria, you add your own join. Just imagine telling my brother to come back by April for enrollment. And he needed it for Jamb”.
