Despite assurances by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) that Nigeria has moved beyond fragmented identity databases through the widespread adoption of the National Identification Number (NIN), experts and many citizens say multiple government agencies and private institutions still operate separate data collection systems, resulting in repeated registrations and verification processes.
NIMC Director-General Abisoye Coker-Odusote recently stated that the NIN now serves as Nigeria’s primary digital identity, with key databases linked according to their respective use cases. According to her, sectors including banking, telecommunications, taxation, immigration, healthcare, education, aviation, security, insurance, and social intervention programmes now rely on the NIN as the common identity layer while retaining sector-specific identifiers such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN).
However, technology experts argue that the current arrangement does not amount to a fully unified national database. They note that although agencies can verify identities through the NIN, many still maintain independent databases and continue requiring citizens to repeatedly submit the same personal information when applying for passports, driver’s licences, tax services, banking products, and other government services.
Analysts explain that the existing system functions largely as an identity verification framework rather than a single integrated national database. They argue that achieving genuine interoperability would require seamless data sharing across institutions, common technical standards, stronger legal frameworks, improved cybersecurity, and the full implementation of digital public infrastructure that enables agencies to securely exchange verified information without repeatedly collecting the same data.
The debate highlights the continuing challenge of modernising Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem. While NIMC maintains that significant progress has been made in integrating identity systems, many users and industry stakeholders argue that the persistence of duplicated registration processes demonstrates that practical implementation remains incomplete.
