NIMC enrolls 206,000 refugees, IDPs, 32,000 inmates

By Juliet Umeh, ABUJA

Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, has disclosed that the commission has enrolled over 206,000 refugees and internally displaced persons, IDPs, as well as 32,000 inmates into Nigeria’s national identity database as part of efforts to ensure inclusive digital identity coverage nationwide.

Coker-Odusote, who spoke during a presentation at ID4Africa 2026, noted that the Commission was targeting 180 million enrolments by December 2026 as Nigeria deepens its digital identity ecosystem.

According to her, “Nigeria’s national identity journey started as far back as 1977 under the military administration, but the establishment of NIMC through Act No. 23 of 2007 laid the legal and institutional foundation for a centralised and secure national identity database.”

She said Nigeria’s identity sector has evolved from “a fragmented and enrollment-focused model into a dynamic Digital Public Ecosystem designed to support governance, financial inclusion, national security, and efficient service delivery.”

Speaking on inclusion, the NIMC boss said: “Over 206,000 refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as over 32,000 inmates, have been enrolled into the national identity database to ensure that no one is left behind.

“Our journey has moved from isolated databases and manual processes to an integrated ecosystem that enables interoperability, identity verification, and real-time authentication across sectors.”

Highlighting milestones achieved between 2007 and 2023, Coker-Odusote said the commission established the National Identity Database, introduced the NIN Mobile App, deployed the Person Identification Verification Service, PIVS, and enforced the NIN-SIM linkage policy.

According to her, “The NIN-SIM linkage policy became one of the biggest drivers of digital identity adoption in the telecommunications sector, significantly accelerating enrollment growth and strengthening identity verification nationwide.”

She disclosed that Nigeria had reached 127 million unique identity records by December 2025.

“We deployed over 800 new mobile enrollment devices nationwide to support rapid enrollment expansion and deepen access, especially in underserved communities,” she said.

She further stated that the country currently processes about 3.3 million verification requests daily while maintaining an average of five million new enrollments monthly.

“We successfully cleared about 2.5 million manual adjudication records, unlocking delayed identities and improving the integrity of the database,” she added.

On integration efforts, Coker-Odusote said NIN has now been connected to major national institutions and programmes.