The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has
cautioned Nigerians against selling their National Identity Number (NIN).
Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy,
had directed all mobile network operators (MNOs) to provide valid NIN to update
SIM registration records.
A two-week deadline was initially given, but later, the
federal government extended the period for subscribers to link their SIM cards
with NIN till January 19, 2021.
The anti-graft agency, in a statement on Thursday, said it
learned that some subscribers “are cashing in on the exercise to induce
enrollees to sell their NIN for a fee”.
It warned that selling one’s NIN is a criminal act and that
anyone found culpable would be prosecuted.
EFCC added that subscribers who sell their NIN risk the
chance of being arrested for any crime linked to their NIN “whether or not they
are directly responsible for such crimes”.
“As Nigerians struggle to acquire the National Identity
Number, NIN, from offices of the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC,
across the country it has come to the knowledge of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, EFCC, that some unscrupulous persons are cashing in on the
exercise to induce enrollees to sell their NIN for a fee. The buyers of the
numbers are also trading with them to persons whose motives are anything but
noble,” the statement reads.
“The EFCC wishes to alert Nigerians that it is not only
illegal to sell their NIN, they stand the risk of vicarious liability for any
act of criminality linked to their NIN.
“In other words, they risk arrest and prosecution for any
act of criminality linked to their NIN whether or not they are directly
responsible for such crimes.”
The commission urged members of the public to report anyone
seeking to buy their NIN to the nearest EFCC office or other law enforcement
agencies.
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