Gbenga Sesan, the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, disclosed that his organization purchased Minister Bosun Tijani’s National Identification Number (NIN) slip for only N100.
Sesan made this revelation on Monday during a discussion on News Central TV, where he addressed data breaches and privacy concerns regarding Nigeria’s vulnerable identification database.
“NIMC’s statement (published on Saturday) suggests that it is Nigerians who are giving their data to these fake websites, but this is NIMC’s data, and we now have proof. We got the NIN slip of the minister, Dr Bosun Tijani; we got the NIN slip of the number one data regulator in Nigeria, Dr Vincent Olatunji,” Sesan said on Monday.
“We bought them for N100 each to demonstrate that this is not a joke. It basically means that your identity is for sale for N100. The real implication is that anything we can do with a NIN slip, we can get a SIM card with that. Who knows if anyone has the President’s SIM card right now. Or the National Security Adviser? A military general leading warfare in a place where they are dealing with terrorists?
“What if a terrorist bought the general’s NIN slip, got his SIM card and sent a message to the troops and said, ‘Meet me at 0700. 14 degrees north,’ just to ambush them? The implications are serious. It means that anybody can claim to be you. They can get your SIM card and do it.”
Just three months after FIJ uncovered XpressVerify, a private platform selling Nigerian identification data, another private website, AnyVerify, has been caught trading Nigerian bank verification numbers (BVNs) and other sensitive citizen information.
READ ALSO: Revolution That Will Consume Tinubu’s Govt Will Start From Northern Nigeria, Not East –Dele Farotimi
Paradigm Initiative announced on Thursday its intention to pursue legal action on behalf of Nigerians whose data privacy rights have been violated.
Responding to concerns raised by Paradigm Initiative about websites like AnyVerify and XpressVerify, NIMC reassured on Saturday that Nigerian citizens’ data had not been compromised.
However, NIMC clarified that it did not authorize AnyVerify and similar websites, labelling them as data harvesters.
“While NIMC seeks to avoid causing panic, the situation demands urgent action to prevent recurring breaches,” remarked Sesan.
Sesan criticized the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) for insufficiently holding NIMC accountable following the XpressVerify exposure by FIJ in March. He pointed out that NIMC had received only a minor reprimand for the breach.
Follow Parallel Facts on WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCQSAoHgZWiDjR3Kn2E
Source: FIJ
