Nigeria’s NIN Programme Helped by the Law of Unintended Consequences

Nigeria’s National Identification Management Commission (NIMC) is tasked with assigning a unique National Identity Number (NIN) and issuing General Multi-Purpose Cards (GMPC) to 148 million citizens by 2024. The enrolment programme was sporadic, to say the least, until a spate of kidnappings triggered a change in its fortunes.

The national identity database and registration for the eleven-digit NIN which identifies Nigerians using biometric data and other personal details were initiated in August 2011 by the then-president Goodluck Jonathan.

The former president received his own National Electronic (e-ID) card in August 2014, when he set the commission a target to enrol all Nigerians on the database by the end of 2014. By this time, it transpired, only 5 million had been enrolled on the database and issued a NIN.