The embarrassing information of breach of data of Nigerians, where peanuts were paid on the streets for full profile of any Nigerian may have finally come under the radar of federal government.
The data domiciled at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) was alleged to be compromised but for which NIMC has, been, as usual of public service, defending and denying without making efforts first to either investigate internally before coming to the public space to deny.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy of Nigeria, Bosun Tijani, says investigation has commenced into the alleged breach.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, the minister said the NIMC and National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) have commenced a probe into the matter.
Paradigm Initiative, a pan-African social enterprise, had on Thursday raised an alarm over its discovery of the sale of National Identification Numbers (NINs), Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), and other personal data of Nigerians on a website for as low as N100.
The organisation claimed that a website known as ‘AnyVerify.com.ng’ was found to be involved in the commercial distribution of personal and private data of Nigerians.
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NIMC spokesman Kayode Adegoke on Sunday subsequently assured Nigerians that their data weren’t compromised.
However, a Senior Manager at Paradigm Initiative, Adeboye Adegoke, on a Channels Television’s The Morning Show, insisted that the minister’s data was bought for N100 on certain websites.
Tijani said he had engaged his colleague in the Ministry of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, adding that they are on top of the matter.
“Second, the NDPC, a year old agency under my supervision as minister, has over the last few months created data compliance mechanisms for all MDAs and has since started a thorough investigation as to the circumstances surrounding this alleged breach,” Tijani said.