The news:
- Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, has responded to the alleged sale of the citizens’ National Identification Numbers (NIN), reportedly part of an ongoing racket by several unauthorised platforms that are holding and selling sensitive personal and financial data of Nigerians for as low as ₦100.
- In a post on X on Wednesday, June 27, 2024, the minister revealed that the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), an agency under his ministry’s supervision, is investigating the circumstances surrounding the alleged breach.
- Tijani also added that he has talked with Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, who assured that his ministry and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) are “on top of the matter.”
Although formerly under Tijani’s Ministery of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, the NIMC was transferred to the Ministry of Interior in September 2023.
Per the minister, the one-year-old NIMC has developed data compliance mechanisms for all government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in the last few months to prevent any such breach.
Similarly, the minister reiterated the importance of a streamlined Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for enhancing technology applications in government while emphasising the need for Data Exchange across MDAs to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity oversight.
“For context, in October 2023, a few weeks after my appointment, I released a whitepaper (which you can find here – https://b.link/NigeriaDPI), elucidating my position on technology application within the public service and our proposed approach to leveraging existing investment in technology to accelerate economic prosperity through improved government processes,” the minister explained.
The minister encouraged Civil Society Organisations and interested the public to read the Whitepaper and engage to help strengthen the country’s DPI.
Closing his statement, Dr Tijani said he had submitted a request for a Presidential declaration to empower his team align all government MDAs behind the ministry’s goal to implement a nationwide data exchange system.
“We anticipate that by the end of the year, the initial pilot of the system should be in place and cover a minimum of 5 MDAs with oversight for supporting Nigerians through critical “life events.”
Recall that on Friday, June 21, 2024, Techpoint reported that Paradigm Initiative, a digital rights organisation, revealed that sensitive personal and financial data belonging to Nigerians were being sold for as low as ₦100.
Responding to the report in a press statement released Saturday, June 22, 2024, the NIMC debunked the claim that the data of Nigerians has been compromised, tagging several websites, including the accused AnyVerify.com, as unauthorised data harvesters. The commission advised the public to stay vigilant and avoid giving sensitive data to unauthorised websites.
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