It was a humid afternoon along Ikosi Road, Ketu, Lagos, where the air carried the mixed scents of freshly baked bread and exhaust fumes from the ceaseless flow of yellow danfos and generating sets.
Nestled beside a bakery stood a small business centre painted in the signature red of a telecommunications giant.
The telco’s logo was plastered all over the centre’s exterior. Like many others in Lagos, the shop was a jack-of-all-trades, registering SIM cards, selling MiFis, and offering internet-related services. Yet, its most lucrative venture appeared to be National Identification Number registration, a service it claimed to be licensed to provide.
“We don’t just register; we also regularise and help to correct any discrepancies. We are a properly registered agent,” a young sales representative at the shop told this reporter with the confidence of a seasoned bureaucrat.
The visit was meant to be a casual errand, accompanying a friend to purchase a MiFi, but the presence of several people seated with documents in hand suggested something more than just a telecom service point.
A middle-aged man, his frustration evident, spoke loudly in broken English, lamenting that his mobile SIM had been blocked because the NIN linked to it was deemed invalid.
“The thing no dey work. My children don try am, but dem talk say the NIN invalid,” he grumbled, waving a slip of paper that bore the official letterhead of the National Identity Management Commission. It had all the necessary data in place, and our correspondent wondered how the number could be invalid.
The operator behind the counter took the slip, punched a few keys on his system, and delivered a verdict:
“Oga, this your NIN na BVN-generated. NIMC say make dem revalidate am. And this thing cost money o! It’s not free o.”
That, however, was patently false. During a recent Digital Public Infrastructure Training in Abuja, an NIMC representative, Dr Alvan Ikoku, had stated categorically that all services offered by the Commission were free and that any staff or agent demanding money should be reported immediately.
But in Lagos, this operator confidently told the distressed man that revalidation could only be done in Abuja and that the only alternative was to pay for a “fast-track” service. Another lie.
Reliable sources at NIMC confirmed to this reporter that the system used by NIN agents is interoperable, meaning that data can be registered, updated, and accessed from anywhere in Nigeria, provided the agent has the necessary clearance.
Although the national repository is located at the NIMC headquarters in Wuse, Abuja, field agents across the country can retrieve and modify data using their secure passcodes, subject to approvals from the central clearance office. There was no reason for anyone to travel to Abuja for revalidation.
“If everyone were to travel to the NIMC office in Wuse, where would the space be to accommodate over 200 million people?” one of the sources queried.
But the man, unaware of these facts and eager to regain access to his blocked line, reluctantly offered a bribe.
“Oga, make I give you N5,000. I no get N12,000. Na beg I dey beg you,” he pleaded in pidgin English.
They haggled like traders in a local market before settling on the bribe amount, which was N5,000. Cash exchanged hands. The transaction was done. This level of extortion left this reporter stunned.
To test the system, this reporter inquired about the cost of a fresh NIN registration.
“It depends,” the agent replied nonchalantly. “If you get no issue, with N2,000, we go do am for you. But if your NIN don expire like that Oga wey siddon for there, na N12,000 for revalidation.” Again, this was illegal. NIN registration and any revalidation of any sort are entirely free.
Further probing revealed another layer to the operation. The agent noted that if this reporter wanted a plastic card version of the NIN slip, it would cost N5,000. Plastic cards are issued by the NIMC after a few months of registration. Our correspondent gathered that an SMS and email are sent to registrants to go to their nearest local government centres to get their NINs sorted.
Our correspondent went back there after a few weeks when he noticed that the middle name on his NIN was not spelt in full in the NIMC system.
Instead of ‘George’, it was spelled ‘G’. On getting to that centre in Ikosi, the agent exclaimed, “Ah! This is a big problem o. You will not be able to even link your NIN to your line. They will soon block your line.” That, too, was another lie. This reporter’s numbers had all been linked since April 2021.
The operator first said he would have to check if there was a network in the system before knowing what to do.
After a few minutes, he said the network was slow but that I could begin my re-registration.
“You will have to re-register, but you will call your NIN so we can revalidate it and then change your middle name to ‘George’. Else, you would not be able to register for your international passport,” he said.
This reporter bought an Airtel SIM, and for some reason, the NIN could not be used for the registration.
“Oga, I told you na. It will not work until you revalidate this NIN. Just give me N5,000, make I do am for you. I no wan charge you,” he said.
Our correspondent gave the necessary information, and his biometrics were captured alongside a passport photograph.
“You will come back after five working days. We will take your documents to Abuja for verification,” he said.
Our correspondent spoke to a source opposite the business centre to monitor whether the agent would be away for those five days but confirmed that the young man was, in fact, present the entire five days.
The agent had given our correspondent his phone number, +234 816 *** 6067 and asked the reporter to call him before coming.
On the third day, when this reporter’s source called to say the agent was in his office, this reporter called him to ask if he had travelled to Abuja.
He said, “As I speak to you now, I am in Abuja. I will be back tomorrow. We are working on your NIN.”
Except Abuja now had an extension at Ikosi Road, Ketu, Lagos, the young man was lying through his teeth.
However, true to his words, on the fifth day, he called this reporter to come get the NIN slip, which now showed the middle name changed from ‘G’ to George.
The Airtel SIM registration magically worked, but this reporter parted with N5,000 for a service that ordinarily should be free.
Our correspondent, who monitored NIN registrations from Obalande on the Lagos Island end down to Ojodu-Berger at the Lagos-Ibadan end of the state, noticed that several agents charged between N2,000 and N5,000 for fresh NIN registrations, and even more for corrections or revalidation.
Zero tolerance
The National Identity Management Commission has repeatedly warned against such illicit charges.
In January 2021, for instance, the commission stressed that enrollment for NIN was free.
The NIMC also warned those cashing in amid the ongoing NIN registration nationwide to desist, as they risk seven years in jail if caught.
The commission, in a notice posted on its social media platforms on January 1 of that year, encouraged Nigerians to report cases of extortion for onward prosecution.
The notice titled ‘NIN Enrolment Is Free’ read: “The punishment for extortion, if convicted, is seven years imprisonment as stipulated in Sections 14, 20, & 21 of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission Act and Sections 10 & 12 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.”
When contacted, NIMC spokesman, Kayode Adegoke, said the warning became pertinent amid complaints from applicants who accused some staff of the commission and some third-party agents of extortion.
“The warning is strictly for members of staff not to extort applicants. NIN enrolment is free, but people have been complaining of extortion, and we have provided the lines for them to file their evidence. The commission has zero tolerance for extortion, and according to the ICPC Act, anyone caught risks a jail term of seven years,” the spokesman said.
In a recent press release in December 2024, the Commission reaffirmed its stance against extortion, stating, “The Commission does not charge nor authorise any staff or its Front End Partners (FEPs) to charge applicants for NIN enrolment.”
To curb these activities, NIMC has directed security agencies to track and take legal action against any staff member or FEP found demanding money for services that are meant to be free. Offenders, it warned, would be sanctioned according to the law, and erring FEPs would have their licences revoked. Despite these measures, corruption continues to fester.
Many Nigerians, already disillusioned by the system, are reluctant to report cases of extortion because they believe nothing will come of it. The NIMC has, however, urged the public to report such cases through its official complaint channels, providing an email (customercare@nimc.gov.ng) and a hotline (0700 2255 646) for such purposes.
Yet, it remains to be seen how effective these measures will be in a country where illicit payments have become almost synonymous with accessing public services.
For now, however, the extortion business continues. And for the man and this reporter, both of whom just parted with N11,000 to validate their already legitimate NIN, the system remains as broken as ever.
Weak enforcement
A security expert and anti-corruption advocate, Abimbola Adegoke, attributes the problem to weak enforcement.
“The challenge with curbing extortion in public services in Nigeria is not a lack of policy but a failure of enforcement. The NIMC says its services are free, but there are no visible efforts to monitor these agents or hold them accountable. If a citizen goes to report an agent, how sure is he that his case will be taken seriously?” Adegoke asked.
A Lagos-based lawyer, Ifeanyi Okonkwo, noted that corruption within identity management services has far-reaching consequences.
“If people have to bribe to obtain or update their NIN, it not only disenfranchises poorer citizens but also creates loopholes for identity fraud. Criminals can manipulate the system to acquire multiple identities simply because someone is willing to accept a bribe to bypass due process. This is a national security risk,” Okonkwo warned.
*This report is produced under the DPI Africa Journalism Fellowship Programmeof the Media Foundation for West Africa and Co-Develop.
