Federal Government has suspended some staff of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) over extortion of National Identity Number (NIN) applicants.
Dr. Ali Isa Ibrahim Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, directed the immediate suspension of the staff on Sunday, a statement by NIMC said.
They were involved in extortion of applicants at the NIMC Bauchi and Kaduna State offices, the statement added.
“This directive came on the heels of public outcry that some personnel of NIMC, particularly at some enrolment centers in Bauchi and Kaduna were capitalizing on the rush for NIN by the public to perpetuate fraudulent activities inimical to policy directive of the Federal Government which requires mobile network subscribers to update their SIM registration with a valid National Identification Number (NIN)”, the statement signed by Kayode Adegoke, NIMC’s head of Corporate Communications, said.
Adegoke said Pantami restated his zero tolerance stance on extortion, bribery and corruption and further noted that such unethical practices if allowed to fester and not nip in the bud by taking stiffer actions against the culprits, has the potency of derailing the SIM-NIN Integration project.
He reiterated that enrolment for the NIN is free of charge, and on no occasion should anyone pay to obtain an enrolment form or to have their biometrics captured.
He said: ” All personnel involved in the enrolment and NIN issuance exercise must carry out their respective duties professionally, fairly and with integrity.
“In light of the above, we wish to call on the general public to assist us in putting our commitments into action by sending proof of any nefarious activity within and around our enrolment centers (snapshot, footage, audio recordings) to 08157691214; 08157691071 or e-mail [email protected].”
