The Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will begin enrolling Nigerian citizens and legal residents into the Nigerian Identity Management System (NIMS) within the next few weeks, reports Business Day.

The registrations will comply with the NIMC Act of 2007, which establishes a National Identity Database, ID cards and a National Identification Number (NIN), as well as allows for the integration of existing identity databases.

The NIMC intends for enrollment to be a simple process. Implementing smart card usage is designed to ease enrollment, protect cardholders from identity theft and fraud and curtail use of fake or multiple identities.

The NIN will consist of a random set of numbers assigned to a particular individual. Enrollees in the system will also have to provide demographic data. The NIMC will capture a full set of ten fingerprints, a photo of the enrollee’s face and a digital signature. This information will be cross-checked with the National Identity Database to eliminate duplicates. Enrollees will be given a chip-based card that contains their information.

Registration will begin as soon as the NIMC’s front end partners are prepared with enrollment to commence in certain locations.

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