TOP TORI NEWS

The Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Abisoye Coker-Odusote, has explained why kidnappers and terrorists may still evade detection despite the integration of the National Identification Number (NIN) into Nigeria’s security system. TOPTORI reports that Coker-Odusote said criminal groups often frustrate tracking efforts by using mobile phones and SIM cards belonging to their victims instead of lines registered in their own names. She spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics. The NIMC boss said the NIN remained the foundation of Nigeria’s identity and security infrastructure but noted that criminals had developed methods of concealing their identities. Coker-Odusote said, “We already know the NIN is the foundational identity for the security architecture, but a lot of the time, you find out the kidnappers use the phones of the people they have abducted. “Which means, how do you trace them because they are not usin...

Nothing feels more disruptive and frustrating than suddenly losing access to a phone line. One moment, everything works as expected. The next, calls fail to connect, mobile data stops working, and a notification appears indicating that the line has been restricted or barred. For many Nigerians, this has become a familiar experience since the enforcement of the National Identification Number (NIN)-SIM linkage policy. The policy was introduced to strengthen digital identity verification and enhance national security. Under the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), all mobile subscribers were required to link their SIM cards with valid NIN records as part of a nationwide biometric verification framework. The NCC has continued to issue official updates and deadlines on compliance with the NIN-SIM linkage exercise. Tribune Online has also consistently reported on subscriber disconnections, verification challenges, and related compliance deadlines tied to the...