The National Identity Management Commission and IDEMIA Smart Identity have agreed to renew their long-standing collaboration to upgrade NIMC’s biometric system, as the number of Nigerians with National Identification Numbers rose to 104 million as of the end of January 2024.
IDEMIA disclosed in a statement obtained from its website that it was aimed at making it the most advanced in the world.
The firm leverages the power of cryptographic and biometric technologies to unlock a single trusted identity.
IDEMIA said that the upgraded system would handle 1 million 1:1 and 1:N identity verification searches per day.
According to the firm, originally designed to support 100 million national identity numbers, the system has already reached its peak and requires this extension to address the entire Nigerian population.
The NIN is crucial for Nigerians and legal residents as it serves as a unique identifier for all individuals in Nigeria, similar to the Social Security Number in the United States or the AADHAR number in India.
The identity company stated that NIMC was already positioned to achieve the sustainable development goals set for 2030 by the United Nations, which call for a legal identity for all by the year 2030.
It further explained that the system upgrade would allow NIMC to be compliant with an open standard set of interfaces that enables seamless connectivity among all components of the identity management ecosystem.
The Senior Vice President of the Middle East and Africa at IDEMIA Smart Identity, Olivier Charlanes, said, “We are very proud to continue our long-standing collaboration with NIMC for the greater good of Nigeria’s growing population.
“The new powerful system is future-proof and will ensure that all Nigerians have access to a secured, trusted identity, enabling them to exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens.”
According to Charlanes, this contract, in the most populous country in Africa, demonstrates IDEMIA’s capability to deploy its technologies on a very large scale.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, declared, “Taking this next step in the enhancement of our system with IDEMIA Smart Identity was a natural choice for us.
“We wanted to ensure that we deliver the best-in-class solution to our fellow Nigerians, and the pure power of the biometric matching we will receive ensures that the solution is future-proof for our growing population.”
NIMC noted that it was working to accelerate enrolment to meet the World Bank target of 148 million by June 2024.
So far, 530,345 Nigerians in the Diaspora have gotten NINs. 59.12 million male and 45.04 million female Nigerians now have NINs.
