News
NIMC Warns Against Fake NIN Number
Published
1 year agoon
By
Editor
The National Identity Management Commission says it has uncovered a syndicate of individuals posing as staff of the commission and issuing fake National Identity Numbers to unsuspecting Nigerians.
It said some offenders have been arrested and are undergoing prosecution with relevant security agencies.
The NIMC Director General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, disclosed this at a press briefing on Friday in Abuja.
Odusote at the briefing also announced that over 107.34 million Nigerians have been enrolled into the NIN database as of May 2024 from 104m recorded in December 2023.
The NIN, a unique identifier assigned to each citizen, has gained prominence in recent years as the cornerstone of various government initiatives aimed at enhancing security, governance, and service delivery.
READ ALSO: NIMC Clears Air On New National ID Card
Detailing their modus operandi, the Director General explained that these individuals masquerade as business vendors and 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 said.
She said a further clampdown led to the discovery of a group of individuals around its annexe office.
The NIMC boss, however, declined to disclose details on the number of persons being interrogated but assured that as soon as the investigation is concluded they would be charged to court for cybercrimes.
Odusote said, “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 record an influx of crowd, people coming into the office telling us that they registered but we can’t find their data on the system. We have a lot of these instances with citizens claiming to have paid money to people who do not have any connection to NIMC.
READ ALSO: NIMC To Launch App For NIN Self Registration – DG
“They (offenders) have perfected the act of trying to mimic what NIMC does. So we decided to clamp down on these people and have arrested offenders. These persons don’t have any connection with the commission at all. We don’t have any internal data breaches because we have one of the best in the world.
“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.”
He added that the commission got wind of the issue after a customer complained that she had paid N120,000 to modify her birth certificate.
There is a case I got at our annexe 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 is not a NIMC staff and all he does is create a fake birth certificate and other documents for a fee. This is part of the reason we decided to digitise our operations.”
She added that efforts have also reached the advanced stage for Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government to harmonise their identity database with NIMC for the country to have a Central Identity database.
READ ALSO: NIMC Reacts As Army Arrests Two ‘Fake’ Officials Enrolling People In Niger Republic
The DG further stated within the next nine months the commission will upgrade the capacity of its database from 100 million to 250 million.
“Nigeria needs to exit keeping multiple identities of citizens in silos through different agencies, we must have a central system, and that is why we are upgrading our infrastructures.
“Obtaining NIN should be within a minimum period especially when our system has been upgraded, and we are building capacity at all levels from the network infrastructure perspective to software areas down to the database.
“We are working on increasing the capacity that we have, we are trying to increase from 100million to 250million, and the process will take us a minimum of 6 months to 9 months. But we are sure we will be there,” Coke-Odusote said.
On the General Multipurpose National Identity Card, she noted that Nigerians will have to pay a certain amount of money to get the new card when it’s launched through finance institutions in the country.
She said, “Just like how you pay to access your ATM cards in the banks, Nigerians will pay through the banks to access their cards within 48 hours after payment to get the digital multipurpose card.”
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News
Sanwo-Olu makes U-turn, Unblocks Lawyer Who Sued Him Over Blocking On X
Published
17 hours agoon
September 13, 2025By
Editor
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has unblocked human rights lawyer, Festus Ogun, on X after a meeting with him at Lagos House, Marina, on Friday.
The lawyer, who had accused the governor of rights violations, announced the development in a post on his X account on Saturday.
According to him, Sanwo-Olu personally invited him for a brief meeting to address his complaints.
“Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has unblocked me on X (Twitter). I met briefly with him yesterday at Lagos House Marina, on his invitation, to amicably resolve my complaint of human rights violations. We will continue to hold authorities accountable, regardless. Aluta continua!” Ogun wrote.
READ ALSO:Lawyer Sues Sanwo-Olu For Blocking Him On X
Tribune Online reports that Ogun had earlier filed a suit against Sanwo-Olu at a Federal High Court in Lagos, accusing him of violating his fundamental rights by blocking him on his verified X account.
In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1739/25, which he shared on Facebook, the lawyer claimed the governor blocked him over his 2021 “constructive criticisms” and “demand for accountability” on the October 2020 #EndSARS killings.
“In 2021, I noticed that the Governor blocked me on his official X handle @jidesanwoolu owing to my constructive criticisms of his policies and demand for accountability in respect of the October 2020 #EndSARS Massacre.”
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Ogun said the action has prevented him from accessing vital government updates and information.
“Blocking me on X has prevented me from accessing public updates and receiving information about policies and governance in Lagos, which constitutes a violation of my right to receive information without interference,” he said.
In his originating summons, he asked the court to declare the move unconstitutional, arbitrary, and discriminatory.
News
Tragedy Deepens As Prime Suspect in Taraba Student’s Death Found Dead
Published
17 hours agoon
September 13, 2025By
Editor
The investigation into the death of Comfort Jimtop, a 100-level Mass Communication student at Taraba State University, has taken a dramatic turn following the discovery of the lifeless body of Emmanuel Kefas, the prime suspect in the case.
Kefas’s body was discovered on Friday in the Tudiri community, Ardo-Kola Local Government Area, under unclear circumstances, intensifying public concern and adding a tragic dimension to a case that has already gripped the university community and residents across Taraba State.
Confirming the development on Saturday, the spokesperson for the Taraba State Police Command, James Lashen, said the police received a report from the village head of Tudiri about the discovery.
READ ALSO:Army Kills Notorious Bandit, Babangida, In Kogi
“A lifeless body was found in Tudiri, and a Tecno Android phone was recovered beside it,” Lashen stated.
“Upon charging the phone, investigators found a photograph showing the deceased with the late Comfort Jimtop, suggesting they were in a romantic relationship.”
Lashen added that the body has been taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Jalingo for autopsy. At the same time, efforts are ongoing to officially identify the remains through the suspect’s family.
READ ALSO:Four Feared Killed As Gunmen Attack Burial Ceremony In Anambra
Police have yet to determine whether Kefas’s death was the result of suicide, homicide, or an accident. Investigations into both deaths are continuing.
Comfort Jimtop’s mysterious death had earlier sparked outrage on campus and across the state, with students and rights groups demanding justice. Kefas was named a prime suspect in the case, which remains open.
This latest development has left many unanswered questions and deepened the grief surrounding the case.
Students, residents, and civil society groups are closely monitoring the situation, calling on authorities to ensure a thorough investigation and bring clarity to the tragic chain of events.
News
Ossiomo, Chinese Impasse: This Is Our Story — Management
Published
19 hours agoon
September 13, 2025By
Editor
The management of Ossiomo Power Plant has cleared the air on the dispute between its Chinese partners and the circumstances surrounding the shutting down of the power plant early this month.
Representative of Ossiomo management, Engineer Festus Evbuomwan, during an interactive session with customers on the impasse between the two partners, said contrary to the rumour making the rounds, the management of Ossiomo Power Plant had paid over ₦2bn to its Chinese partner — Jiangsu Communication Clean Energy Technology (CCETC) — since the power plant started operation.
Recall that representative of CCETC who identified himself as Mr. ‘W’ had, during a telephone phone interview two weeks ago, claimed that “instruction to shutdown was because we lost lots of money and did not get any return on investment,” adding that “all the $20m investment was done by us including the distribution lines.”
But Evbuomwan during the interactive session, said the management was not aware of the $20m investment the Chinese partner claimed, just as he disclosed that “when they generate power, we sell and pay them.”
READ ALSO:Edo Govt Denies Shares As Ownership Tussle Rocks Ossiomo Power
He disclosed that after shutting down the power plant, the Chinese partners came up with a request of ₦185m to be paid to two Chinese not known to the management, stressing that this was declined.
According to him, the Chinese partner, having seen how lucrative the business is, “went to some quarters and raised some issues probably thinking they can manoeuvre us with the help of some big persons, so that they can use their machines to generate power and sideline us but this is not possible.”
“The Chinese partners also claimed that they borrowed $20m from their native land to invest, we are not aware of such investment, and we do not know where the money was invested up till now.
“They have been also saying they have not been receiving anything, but I want to tell you unequivocally that first, the partners run a joint account where their investment is going into. More so, The Chinese partners have received over ₦2bn so far for the power they generate with their machines. When they generate the power, we sell and pay them.”
READ ALSO: Five Years After, Edo Govt Reconnects To BEDC As Ossiomo Shut Down
Engr. Evbuomwan, while apologising to customers for the power outage caused by the dispute between the two partners, said Ossiomo had started power generation though not in full capacity, assuring that power generation would be fully restored soon.
“We have purchased turbines, and one have started working. They are working on the second one, so, by the time our five turbines start working we will be in full capacity. Even with that, those connected to the government may not be reached immediately. This is because the government bought the poles and contracted the wiring, and we cannot force the government to do our bid. Also, we are making efforts to site 33kva transformer along Airport Road and Lagos Road as soon as possible, so that our customers there will get power.”
He said the Edo State government does not have a stake in the company, just as he appealed to the “government to let us supply power to customers in through their Lines. I want to emphasise that Ossiomo is not completely shut down.”
He further urged the “government to encourage the Nigerian citizens to invest and not to work against local investors.”
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