Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa hence the need for proper identification of her citizens. There has been recent sensitization of the general public by the federal government on why it is necessary to get your National Identification Number. Getting the NIN involves a process that must be adhered to if you must register and get your NIN as organized by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
The Nigeria Immigration Service recently announced that a database harmonization efforts alongside other agencies which include banks across Nigeria is in progress and one of which is making the NIN a compulsory requirement for obtaining a travel passport, opening a bank account, applying for a drivers license and other important national application as this would further drive the need for every citizen of Nigeria towards having a National Identification Number.
In the nearest future, every citizen of Nigeria will be forced to have a NIN as all agencies and banks will be needing your NIN as a compulsory and required document to be presented before any transaction or service shall be carried out.
We have been are talking about how to get and apply for NIN in Nigeria, lets not be too quick to forget that some readers do not know the meaning of NIN, why they must have the NIN and benefits of having the NIN in Nigeria. In this article we shall be furnishing you with all you need to know about the NIN and why the commission is making conscious efforts in making sure that every legal person living in Nigeria must have his or her NIN.
What is the meaning of NIN?
According to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), National Identification Number (NIN) is defined as a set of numbers designated to an individual upon successfully registering for the NIMC national identification number.
The NIN is used to tie all records about an individual in the database and is also used to establish or verify his/her identity and all citizens legally living in Nigeria, from age zero (birth) and above are eligible to enrol for their National Identification Number.
The NIN enrollment process involves the following;
a) Recording of an individual’s demographic data which includes name, date of birth, state of origin, occupation, house address and other important details.
b) It also includes the capture of your ten (10) fingerprints
c) Your head-to-shoulder facial picture and digital signature will also be captured which are all used to cross-check existing data in the National Identity Database to confirm that there is no previous entry of the same data.
The federal government of Nigeria had to adopt this method of Identification for various reasons.
10 Benefits of National Identification Number (NIN)?
- The NIN can be used for retrieving your captured information from the National Identity Database.
- It is used for identification purposes by matching information associated with your NIN to verify that you are really who you claim you are.
- The NIN helps to provide accurate records about actual living/dead persons in every region of the country
- Fourthly, it helps in keeping track of actual transactions as well as movement of people within and out of the country
- The NIN helps in confirming which individuals are in actual need of particular Government services, e.g. age and retirement confirmation for pensioners.
- It saves needed time for verifying documents to properly identify you in order to access the services you require.
- Having a National Identity Number helps in educing errors in allocation of services to the right people and prevention of fraud (419) where someone else impersonates you
- For personal and business verification purposes. That is, you can use the NIN for digging out the information of persons you intend transacting business dealings with or even people you wish to employ for domestic or personal use.
- The NIN is a tool that ensures you are properly identified when receiving health services, e.g. verifying the actual blood types of blood donors at hospitals
- Lastly the NIN is a veritable means of verifying of voter eligibility during local, state or presidential elections in Nigeria
According to the NIMC, the National Identification Number (NIN) is made up of eleven (11) non- intelligible numbers randomly chosen and assigned to an individual after the completion of enrollment into the National Identity Database (NIDB).
One of the unique features of the NIN is that when an NIN is assigned or designated to an individual, it can never be reassigned or used by another person. However, in the death of such individual, his/her NIN is retired upon the presentation of a death certificate is presented to the National Identity Management Commission.
How Can I Enroll for NIN?
One reason Nigerians resist registrations like this is because of the stress and protocols involved. Take for example, the voters registration and National Identity card registration process, till date, many Nigerians are yet to get their voters and National ID cards after going through untold hardship during the registration process. Anything that has to do with National registration has never been an easy one that is why it seems Nigerians are being forced to register when it is not meant to be so.
One of the greatest challenges bedeviling the NIN registration in Nigeria is the inadequate and insufficient manpower and NIN registration centers across Nigeria given the responsibility to handle the task, below standard sensitization of the general public as regards the benefits of enrolling for the NIN and the lackadaisical attitude of the enrollment officers towards applicants. When these have been addressed, there will be a massive turn out of registrants for application for NIN in Nigeria.
Having discussed the benefits of having a NIN and factors militating against massive enrollment for the National Identification Number in Nigeria, you might be interested in knowing how to enroll for the NIN and get yours identification number with relative ease. We shall be breaking down the process of applying for NIN below, simply follow the required steps and you are good as having obtained your NIN.
First of all, before applying for NIN you need to enroll via the NIMC Pre Enrollment Portal and follow the laid down instructions for applying for NIN.
For applicants requiring or in need of assistance with Enrollment Form have the option of visiting the nearest Enrollment Centre, request for help and they will be assisted by a Support Officer in correctly filling the Enrollment Form with the required information. Upon application, the following supporting documents must be made available in the process of enrolling for NIN in Nigeria as information from these documents as well as uploads of some would be required for the online registration process.
Documents Required For Enrolling for NIN In Nigeria
Walk into the nearest NIMC Enrollment Centre with your BVN if you have one and any of the following required Original and Valid supporting documents:
- Birth certificate
- Registered/recognized private organization staff ID card
- School ID Card (private/public)
- Tax Clearance certificate
- Old National ID Card
- Driver’s License
- Voter’s card (Temporary or Permanent)
- Nigerian International passport
- Certificate of Origin
- Attestation letter from a prominent ruler in your community
- Valid immigration documents
- Declaration of age
- Attestation letter from religious/traditional leader
- NHIS ID card
- Government staff ID card
Step 1:
Fill up the pre-enrollment online form, download and print Pre-Enrollment Slip also known as the NIN slip
- Fill the NIMC Pre Enrollment online form by visiting Pre Enrolment Portal on https://penrol.nimc.gov.ng/
- All the mandatory fields need to be completely filled with correct information.
- Download and print your Pre-Enrollment Slip (National Identification Number slip)
Step 2:
Submit Your Online Application
- Visit the NIMC Registration Centre closest to you with any one of the following Original and Valid supporting documents listed above.
- Upon getting there, request for an enrollment officer and you shall be directed you to a counter where the Enrolment Officer will screen all the details of your application to ensure it is compliant with all the requirements for getting an NIN in Nigeria
- Should your application be in line with what is tenable, the Enrolment officer will guide you to proceed with the capture of biometrics (ten finger prints and facial image) and you will collect the Transaction ID Slip as an evidence of the transaction.
Note the following:
- Applicants who cannot read nor write should be accompanied by a literate individual who can do the form filling for him/her.
- Minor applicants (Less than 18) should be accompanied by parents / guardians can do the form filling for them.
- Minor applicants should only bring original and valid birth certificate and NIN slip of one of the Nigerian Parent / Guardian.
Step 3:
NIN Issuance
- The normal time frame for issuance of National Identification Number (NIN) Slip is 2 to 3 working days from the time the biometric details are captured at enrolment centers.
- The issuance of NIN may take longer in certain cases due to validation of details at NIMC. VFS has no role to play to expedite for such cases.
- The Transaction ID Slip is required to be stored carefully by applicant as it is required to be presented at the time of collection of NIN Slip indicating completion of enrollment
As seen above, the steps required for registering is just 3 steps, all that is required from you is that you follow the steps and provide the required documents needed. It is as simple as ABC.
Hope the above has been able to answer questions like how can i enroll for NIN, what are the documents i need for enrolling for NIN in Nigeria? and all other related questions. However, if you still have questions please reach out to us via the comment section below and we shall respond accordingly.
