Any Nigerian without National Identity Number (NIN) risks 7 or 14 years imprisonment, says Minister

Any Nigerian who fails to obtain his or her National Identity Number (NIN) risks seven or 14 years imprisonment, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, said in Abuja on Thursday.

Those who are yet to obtain their NIN, risk seven or 14 years imprisonment as stipulated by the Nigerian Constitution.

Obtaining a SIM card maybe optional, NIN is mandatory,’’ he said at the 6th edition of the ministerial briefings organised by the Presidential Media Team at the Villa, Abuja.

According to the minister, a lot of transactions in the country are not supposed to be carried out without NIN including opening of a bank account, tax payment and others.

He disclosed that as at March 31, 2021, more than 51 million NIN have been fully enrolled while 189 million Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) have so far been registered.

“Out of this, 150 million have completed registration while others have problems of improper registration.”

Pantami said NIN would show the total number of Nigerians that have registered.

Details shortly …