ICPC warns NIMC partners that fraudulent NIN registration attracts seven-year jail

ICPC warns NIMC enrolment partners that involvement in NIN fraud, including registering non-Nigerians, could lead to a seven-year prison sentence. Read More: https://punchng.com/nin-fraudsters-risk-seven-year-jail-icpc-warns/

ICPC warns NIMC partners: fraudulent NIN registrations, including for non-Nigerians, attract a seven-year jail term. Ensure compliance to avoid severe pena Read More: https://punchng.com/icpc-says-fraudulent-nin-registration-attracts-seven-year-jail-term/

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has issued a stern warning to front-end enrolment partners of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), stating that involvement in fraudulent National Identification Number (NIN) registrations could result in a seven-year prison sentence upon conviction.The warning was delivered on Thursday in Abuja during a security briefing organised by NIMC for its enrolment partners in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser and other security agencies.Assistant Director at the ICPC, Mark Faison, emphasised that enrolment agents must strictly adhere to the terms of their engagement, describing any deviation as an abuse of office and an act of corruption.“If you abuse the privilege you have been given, that amounts to abuse of office because you are operating on behalf of NIMC to register Nigerians. And if you do otherwise, you are abusing the trust that has been placed in you, and you will be punished for it if you are caught,” Faison said.He added: “Seven years’ imprisonment is the punishment for that kind of offence. So I urge you, please, for the sake of the safety of our country, do the little you can do in your own corner."Faison particularly flagged the registration of non-Nigerians as citizens, noting that such actions constitute a serious national security threat. He revealed that security agencies have arrested individuals who obtained NINs through some enrolment centres only to be discovered as foreigners by immigration officers.The NIMC Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, explained that the briefing was necessary due to the expanding role of digital identity in government services, finance, telecommunications, healthcare, education, and social interventions.She stressed the need for stronger security controls and system integrity, warning that only NIMC-approved and certified software would be permitted in the ecosystem. The commission plans to intensify audits of enrolment partners to prevent data leakages and ensure compliance.Other speakers, including NIMC’s Head of IT and Identity Data Department, Suleiman Falade, and a representative from the Office of the National Security Adviser, Kayode Oni, reinforced the call for diligence, warning that violations would attract sanctions.