Following the reported incident of unauthorised National Identification Number (NIN) verification by expressverify.com, investigation reveals that a third-party who, among others, was originally authorised to provide verification services to citizens and genuine businesses might have allowed expressverify.com to use its NIN verification credentials to conduct verification.

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), which stated this, said the circumstances surrounding this permission is still under investigation.To remedy this incident, NDPC said National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), in line with established remediation protocols, barred all forms of access to its database.

The data management commission said though necessary, barring all forms of access affected all genuine and crucial verification requests. It noted that after a painstaking review, limited access has been granted to few establishments that are providing pivotal public services such as education and security.

NDPC said ongoing investigation – by relevant agencies seeks to establish the medium through which expressverify.com obtained the credentials of bona fide third parties and to determine the liability of persons involved in line with extant laws.

NDPC in a statement, signed by it Head, Legal, Enforcement and Regulations, Babatunde Bamigboye, said the moment, data processing by licensees generally are to be scrutinized and only those that are cleared based on credible evidence of regulatory compliance will be permitted to carry out NIN verification going forward.

Further, the body said series of intensive trainings would be conducted in order to ensure that personnel and licensees are abreast of the duty of care and the standard of care mandated by the Nigeria Data Protection Act, NIMC’s Privacy Policy and other relevant regulatory protocols. In the meantime, NDPC calls on members of the public to see NIN as an essential data for sustainable development.

“While existing technical and organisational measures are being strengthened to ensure the protection of this data, it is important for citizens to ensure that they are not left unidentified in various frameworks for development. It is equally important to be vigilant when sharing personal information on various online platforms,” NDPC stated. (The Guardian)

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