Why killings, kidnappings have continued despite Sim/NIN linkage

The Director General of the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, says that rampant killings and kidnapping has continued to fester in the country because hoodlums succeeded in circumventing previous engagements and directives requiring people to use the NIN to register their Sim cards across the country.

The DG, stated this while responding to questions at an annual Consultation Workshop with Stakeholders organized by the ID4D in partnership with other partners in Abuja.

Odusote, who was represented by her Technical Assistant, Ayobami Zainab Abiola noted that previous directives requiring people to use the NIN to register their Sim cards was manipulated by some criminal elements, hence, the surge in recent killings and kidnapping.

She said, ‘‘NIMC is assisting government to cub rampant killings and kidnappings. NIMC is working with security agencies to ensure we use the NIN in a way that we secure the country. There has been previous engagements and directives requiring people to use the NIN to register their Sim cards, however, people have in some cases tried to circumvent that and this is to the detriment of using these information for security purposes’’.

However, ‘Odusote informed that the NIMC is working very closely with security agencies to plug all of these holes, having been able to locate these loopholes in the process being exploited by hoodlums.

‘‘We are working also not with the security agencies, but with NCC and MNOs to plug these holes on the things that are happening at the backend. We are working hard to see great improvement on that’’. She said

On registration of foreigners, the DG said, “These are things people had been able to exploit due to the porosity of the borders and because certain people are not doing the checks required to ensure that the person that had been captured is a citizen. This is also part of the holistic process the DG is working on and that is part of what is going to be addressed at a retreat holding in Nasarawa’’.

Meanwhile, the Federal government has assured that no Nigerian irrespective of sex, age, location, residency, or physical status is denied the right to a verifiable ID. It said this is so because a robust identity system serves as the cornerstone for building a more secure, sustainable, and prosperous Nigeria.

The DG, who gave the assurance in her keynote address, said the government is aware that access to a reliable identity is not a privilege but a fundamental right and therefore would do everything possible to provide access to every Nigerian citizen and legal residents.