The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami has directed the immediate suspension of staff members involved in extortion of applicants at the Bauchi and Kaduna state offices of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
The directive came on the heels of public outcry that some personnel of NIMC, particularly at some enrolment centers in Bauchi and Kaduna states were capitalising on the rush for the enrolment of the National Identity Number (NIN) by the public to perpetuate fraudulent activities inimical to policy directive of the Federal Government, which requires mobile network subscribers to update their SIM registration with a valid NIN.
A statement issued by NIMC and signed by its Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Kayode Adegoke, explained that the minister restated his zero tolerance stance on extortion, bribery and corruption and further noted that such unethical practices if allowed to fester and not nip in the bud by taking stiffer actions against the culprits, has the potency of derailing the SIM-NIN integration project.
“Enrolment for the National Identification Number (NIN) is free of charge, and on no occasion should anyone pay to obtain an enrolment form or to have their biometrics captured. All personnel involved in the enrolment and NIN issuance exercise must carry out their respective duties professionally, fairly and with integrity. In light of the above, we wish to call on the general public to assist us in putting our commitments into action by sending proof of any nefarious activity within and around our enrolment centres either by snapshot, footage, or audio recordings to designated numbers,” the statement further said.
