News
Lagos NIN Agents Extort Residents Despite NIMC Warnings
- NIN agents in Lagos extort money for free services.
- Fake claims that revalidation requires travel to Abuja.
- Agents charge between N2,000 and N12,000 for illegal NIN services.
Despite repeated warnings from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) that all NIN services are free, agents across Lagos continue to extort unsuspecting citizens, demanding up to N5,000 for registrations and corrections.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that on a humid afternoon along Ikosi Road, Ketu, Lagos, a small business centre painted in the red of a major telecommunications company bustled with activity. While it offered SIM card registration and internet services, its most profitable venture seemed to be National Identification Number (NIN) registration and correction.
“We don’t just register; we also correct discrepancies. We are a properly registered agent,” a sales representative confidently told this reporter.
A middle-aged man lamented that his SIM had been blocked because his NIN was deemed invalid. The agent inspected his documents and declared, “Oga, this your NIN na BVN-generated. You need to revalidate it, and it costs money.”
This was false. Dr. Alvan Ikoku, an NIMC representative, had recently stated that all NIN services were free and that any agent demanding money should be reported. Yet, in Lagos, the agent insisted that revalidation could only be done in Abuja unless the man paid for a “fast-track” service—another lie.
Reliable sources confirmed that NIN data could be updated from anywhere in Nigeria with proper clearance. But unaware of this, the man eventually offered a bribe. After haggling, they settled on N5,000.
To test the system, this reporter inquired about a fresh NIN registration. “It depends,” the agent said. “If there’s no issue, N2,000. If your NIN has expired, revalidation is N12,000.” Again, this was illegal.
When this reporter returned weeks later to correct a misspelled middle name, the agent claimed the NIN couldn’t be linked to a phone number without revalidation. He demanded another N5,000. The reporter’s biometrics were captured, and he was told the documents would be sent to Abuja. However, a local source confirmed that the agent never left Lagos.
Lagos NIN Agents
On the fifth day, the agent called, claiming to have returned from Abuja. The NIN slip was corrected, and the Airtel SIM registration worked. However, the reporter had paid N5,000 for a supposedly free service.
Across Lagos, agents were found charging between N2,000 and N5,000 for NIN registrations and more for corrections or revalidations, exposing a widespread system of extortion.
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