Decades after, Nigeria wobbles to produce physical ID cards for citizens
Published: 26/Jul/2025
Source: The Guardian (Abuja)
Illegal Printing, Issuance Of Plastic Card Persist Despite Govt Warning
The National Identification Number (NIN) system was introduced in Nigeria to provide a reliable means of identifying all citizens and other legal residents. While over 100 million people have been successfully enrolled and assigned NINs, the government has not been able to produce and distribute permanent identification cards. The situation is raising serious concerns, as the prolonged delay has created a vacuum now being exploited by unscrupulous individuals to produce and sell fake NIN plastic cards despite government declaration of such as an illegality that will attract sanctions. GBENGA SALAU reports on the emergence and operation of the black market for the fake plastic identification card.
“I HAVE my National Identification Number (NIN), but they told me to pay N5,000 for a permanent card,” said Sola Akande, a Lagos resident who waited for five years for his permanent identity card to be issued, and when it was not forth-coming he procured one through a business centre.
While Akande waited for five years, many other Nigerians who have registered for more than a decade are still not able to get their permanent ID cards. Samuel Benjamin is one of such persons who lamented the snail speed that characterizes the operation of the National Identification Management Commission (NIMC), especially in making plastic card available to enrollees.
He said he registered in 2014 when the only place for registration in Lagos was the state’s head office of the NIMC in Alausa, Ikeja. Till date, he has not been able to get the plastic ID card and has visited the Lagos head office of the agency severally. He said that he was there again in June 2025, but was told there was no light, so he should wait like many others to be attended to or come back at another time. He left the Lagos NIMC office unhappy. The story of Akande and Benjamin highlights a growing crisis. While millions of Nigerians have enrolled for their NIN, only a few have received the permanent card.
Read further: https://guardian.ng/features/decades-after-nigeria-wobbles-to-produce-physical-id-cards-for-citizens/