NIMC Uncovers Syndicate Selling Fake NIN, Arrests Suspects

NIMC Uncovers Syndicate Selling Fake NIN, Arrests Suspects

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) said it had uncovered a group of individuals posing as employees of the commission and issuing fake National Identity Numbers (NIN) to unsuspecting victims.

The NIMC Director General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, told journalists that some suspects had been arrested and were undergoing prosecution with relevant security agencies.

She said the Commission got wind of the issue after a customer complained that she had paid N120,000 to modify her birth certificate.

The NIMC boss explained that the individuals masqueraded as business vendors and operators of cyber cafes, crafting links for unsuspecting individuals, developing software, and fabricating fake NINs.

This data doesn’t reach our server, resulting in numerous Nigerians falling victim to scams,” she added.

She said a further clampdown led to the discovery of a group of individuals around its annex office.

The NIMC boss, however, declined to disclose details on the number of persons being interrogated but assured that as soon as the investigation was concluded, they would be prosecuted for cybercrimes.

“I am going to speak on extortion, data breach, and privacy. When we carried out our investigations, we discovered that around NIMC’s offices, people were parading as business vendors and cyber cafes, creating links for unsuspecting persons, designing software and generating fake NINs for people. This data does not come to our server and a lot of Nigerians have been scammed.

“We will not allow them to parade as if they are part of us and they are not. A lot of people have lost money through this method. There is a case I got at our annex office and a lady approached me telling me that she had been extorted of over N120,000 to modify her birth certificate, and the person who extorted her was not a NIMC employee.

“A lot of people have lost their money to extortioners. Any staff of NIMC that tries to work with illegal perpetrators will face disciplinary committee and be tried according to the Cybercrime Act of 2015 and the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023. Same with any illegal perpetrators. We will make sure we create proper communication to gauge against extortioners,” she said.

By PRNigeria