Friday, June 28, 2024 - Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, announced that the federal government is conducting a thorough investigation into alleged breaches in the national data system.
In
a statement posted on his X handle, Tijani mentioned that the National Identity
Management Commission (NIMC) and the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC)
are leading the investigation.
This
response follows a report by Paradigm Initiative claiming that national
identification numbers (NINs), bank verification numbers (BVNs), and other
personal data of Nigerians were being sold on unauthorized websites for as low
as N100.
On
June 22, NIMC denied any partnerships with websites such as Idfinder.com.ng,
Verify.ng, Championtech.com.ng, Trustyonline.com, and Anyverify.com, and
advised Nigerians against using these sites.
In
a separate interview, Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative,
revealed that his organization was able to purchase Tijani’s NIN slip for just
N100.
While
Tijani did not confirm or deny the data breaches in his post, he assured that
the agencies "are on top of the matter." He said in a
statement;
"ON
NIN SLIPS BEING PURCHASED FOR N100 First, I have engaged my colleague, the
Minister of Interior, who supervises the National Identity Management
Commission (NIMC) and I am aware that his ministry and the agency are on top of
the matter. Second, the @ndpcngr, 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.
"Having
established that, I do believe that it is important to share the proactive
steps I have taken upon appointment to help strengthen technology application
in government, despite the historical siloed approach to procurement and
development. For context, in October 2023, a few weeks after my appointment, I
released a whitepaper (which you can find here - https://b.link/NigeriaDPI),
elucidating my position on technology application within the public service and
our proposed approach to leveraging existing investment in technology to
accelerate economic prosperity through improved government processes.
"While
some may not have recognised the relevance of that publication, it has shaped
our approach and activities towards strengthening the use of technology in
government while protecting the nation and our citizens. The very last
paragraph of the whitepaper speaks clearly to how our approach will address and
mitigate against issues around data breach and make our systems secure. Since
the release of that document, we have initiated the following:
⁃ Presentation to kick off an alignment with
all permanent secretaries highlighting the importance of a structured Digital
Public Infrastructure (DPI) approach and the need for Data Exchange across MDAs
to strengthen Nigeria’s cybersecurity oversight for critical DPI
⁃ A 2-day workshop with Directors of ICT
across all MDAs to enlighten and initiate a plan to strengthen DPI in Nigeria ⁃ Launched the #DevsInGovernment - a
community of practice for all civil servants responsible for technology within
the government which serves as a platform for enlightening and securing buy-in
across the ICT cadre.
⁃ Launched the Responsible Data Management
Course for Civil Servants (a partnership between the NDPC & Datadotorg) to
improve on data handling and protection across government institutions.
⁃ Workshop with the Centre for Digital
Public Infrastructure, to assess the status quo and agree on an implementation
roadmap for DPI in Nigeria.
⁃ Conducted deep dives and knowledge
exchange workshops on DPI and data exchange with Finland & Estonia as part
of the design process for our Data Exchange System.
" Finally, we have submitted a request for a Presidential declaration to enable us to align all MDAs behind our goal to implement a data exchange system in Nigeria. We anticipate that by the end of the year, the initial pilot of the system should be in place and cover a minimum of 5 MDAs with oversight for supporting Nigerians through critical “life events” I share this update to encourage Civil Society Organisations and those interested, to read the Whitepaper and engage with us as we strengthen our DPI."
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