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By Ngozi Nwoke
A mother recently narrated how her teenage daughter went to register for Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and tried to thumbprint, but the biometric scanner couldn’t capture her thumbs.
She sought medical advice from a dermatologist where her daughter was diagnosed with a condition called Adermatoglyphia.
It is a rare genetic disorder that prevents fingerprint patterns from forming. People are born with smooth fingertips, no ridges, no loops, no whorls.
As Nigeria fully uses biometrics for Bank Verification Number (BVN), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), National Identification Number (NIN), and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB), victims with the disorder worry that they may be excluded in the registration of these essential services.
Health experts say Adermatoglyphia is caused by a mutation in the SMARCAD1 gene, and is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern. They noted that if one parent has it, a child has a 50 per cent chance of inheriting it.
They emphasised that people with the condition are otherwise healthy. Their skin is normal. They can sweat, feel touch, and heal. The only difference is that the ridges on their fingertips, palms and soles never develop in the womb.
For decades it was called “immigration delay disease” because the first documented families were stopped at US borders. In Nigeria, there are no official statistics, but dermatologists say cases do exist and they are usually discovered by accident, or when it’s time to use the biometric scanners and the machine rejects them.
Research shows that Adermatoglyphia is extremely rare, with fewer than 10 families documented worldwide in medical literature, yet it does exist in Nigeria and other countries.
Because it has no symptoms beyond smooth fingertips, most people live for years without knowing they have it. There is no pain, no illness, no visible sign that anything is different until they are asked to place a thumb on a scanner.
This means awareness is extremely low among the general public, among frontline enrollment officers, and even among healthcare workers who may never encounter a case in their career.
As a result, people with the condition often assume the machine is faulty, or that they are doing something wrong, and they are repeatedly turned away without ever receiving a diagnosis or an explanation.
The silence around the condition means that victims do not know whether to seek medical confirmation, banks and government agencies have not built systems to identify and accommodate it.
To understand the condition in a broader perspective, Nathaniel Uno, Consultant Dermatologist, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan explained that it is extremely rare.
He admitted that in Nigeria, he has personally seen two cases in 12 years of practice.
“Most people will live their whole lives without knowing, until biometrics become mandatory. Diagnosis is clinical. When a patient presents with absent dermatoglyphics, doctors confirm by dermoscopy and by ruling out acquired causes like burns, eczema, or manual labour.
“Genetic testing for the SMARCAD1 gene can confirm it, but it is not routinely done here. A dermatologist’s report is usually sufficient for official purposes. Beyond biometrics, the disease does not affect a person’s health in any other way. It is a benign skin feature. It does not affect sweating, grip strength, or sensation in any significant way.
“The only challenge is social and administrative, having to do with identification. As far as current research shows, it is an isolated skin feature. It is not linked to cancer, immune disease, or internal organ problems. The main burden is exclusion from systems that rely solely on fingerprints,” he stressed.
Sharing his insight, Kehinde Ololade, a renowned Consultant Radiation and Clinical Oncologist at the Jakaranda Cancer Care said there are two distinct types of Adermatoglyphia.
He noted that the disease can be inherited or acquired, urging medical reports for affected people to access essential services.
“There are two types of Adermatoglyphia. There is one that involves family line, which is inherited from one generation to another in a dominant pattern, and there is another that is acquired due to illness and medications.
“Certain medical treatments can also lead to the loss of fingerprints. There are some chemotherapy that, when administered in some cancer patients, can cause their finger prints to get blurred and disappear.”
The clarification comes amid reports of Nigerians who are only discovering they have the condition when biometric scanners fail to capture their prints during NIN, BVN, UTME, NYSC and SIM registration.
Ololade further advised that persons with the condition, whether from birth or as a result of illness, should ensure they have proper medical backing.
“Anyone suffering from Adermatoglyphia must request a detailed medical report that is approved via a rigorous medical assessment. It is usually sufficient to be used by the patient or any individual who has either the absence of fingerprints from birth or the one that develops due to sickness.”
Also speaking, Abuja-based health consultant, Jotham Urim said Adermatoglyphia is diagnosed clinically by examining the skin for the complete absence of dermatoglyphs.
According to Urim, during a physical examination, patients with the condition present with fingertips, palms, and soles that appear smooth and shiny, with no visible ridge patterns.
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He noted that many also experience reduced sweating on the palms and soles because sweat pores are located on the skin ridges, stating that even traditional ink-based fingerprinting will show blank prints.
To properly document the condition, Urim said an ink print or digital scan of all 10 fingers, palms, and soles is carried out, along with photographs for medical records.
He added that genetic testing can be used to confirm the diagnosis, especially where there is a family history, and it also aids in family counselling, though it is not always required.
The dermatologist stressed the importance of taking a detailed patient history to rule out acquired causes such as chemotherapy, certain medications, burns, severe dermatitis, or aging, which can also lead to loss of fingerprints.
On the prognosis, Urim clarified that the condition does not disappear during a person’s lifetime. “In congenital or inherited Adermatoglyphia, the skin ridges never develop during foetal growth and will not appear later. It is permanent,” he explained.
He noted that in acquired cases caused by drugs or illness, fingerprints may partially return months after the medication is stopped. However, he said there is currently no treatment that can make the ridges grow in congenital cases.
Urim described the condition as benign, adding that it does not cause pain or illness. “The main challenges patients face are with biometric identification and reduced sweating, not with the skin worsening over time,” he concluded.
Advocacy groups called on government agencies to recognise such medical reports and provide alternative biometric options like facial and iris verification to prevent exclusion.
Nigeria has, in the last decade, moved almost all citizen services to biometrics.
NIN is mandatory for SIM, banking, and passport. BVN is required to operate a bank account. SIM lines are linked to NIN and biometrics. And JAMB made fingerprint verification compulsory for UTME entry.
NYSC requires biometric capture for mobilisation and monthly clearance. Passport and immigration require 10-finger capture.
The logic is security and fraud prevention. But for people with Adermatoglyphia, the system has no fingerprint to read. A review of public guidelines shows how agencies currently handle failure.
JAMB has acknowledged biometric failures. Its procedure includes cleaning hands, trying other fingers, and swapping hardware. If all fail, the Technical Officer must document a “Failure to Verify” and report to headquarters. Crucially, JAMB is rolling out Facial Biometric Verification in partnership with NIMC.
The Board said it would gradually phase out fingerprint authentication in the next two to three years because fingerprints can fail when dirty, wet, greasy or worn down. For now, fingerprint is still mandatory.
Candidates who cannot be verified are told to contact JAMB, and those with genuine cases at registration can be assigned to a centre at JAMB headquarters for close monitoring. There is no published policy yet for permanent exemption or affidavit.
The National Identity Management Commission’s new Act allows identity to be delivered through smartphone apps, QR codes, biometric authentication, digital wallets, and other emerging technologies. Authentication can be by fingerprint or facial image against the biometric record linked to the person’s NIN.
NIMC has also launched a self-service validation module that allows recapturing facial and fingerprint biometrics to eliminate the challenge of missing biometrics. However, there is no explicit public “exception form” for people with no fingerprints. Enrolment still requires biometric capture at centres.
The NYSC emphasised that unverified biometrics at camp mean no registration. The portal lists biometric failures as a common challenge, with the advice to clean hands and try another centre. There is no mention of iris scan, facial recognition, or affidavit as a backup in the public requirements.
NYSC has partnered with NIMC to simplify biometric verification, suggesting it relies on NIMC’s database. In summary, facial recognition is coming with JAMB, and NIMC’s law allows for non-fingerprint credentials. But as of 2026, no agency publicly lists a clear, standardised alternative for people with Adermatoglyphia.
Bernard Agbamuche, President, Inclusive Voices Coalition, a civic participation group for people with disabilities, said any system that makes one form of biometric the only gateway to education, banking, or identity is discriminatory.
“The Disability Act 2018 mandates reasonable accommodation. For a person with Adermatoglyphia, reasonable accommodation means an alternative mode such as facial, iris, or a medical certificate backed by an affidavit.
“Government must issue a circular directing all MDAs to accept these alternatives. No Nigerian should be denied JAMB or NIN because of a genetic condition they did not choose.”
Irene Igwe, Councillor and Founder, Bridge-The-Gap Initiative, described the situation as a serious inclusion issue.
“We often talk about physical disability, but genetic and invisible conditions matter too. The right to identity is a fundamental human right. When NIMC and JAMB collect biometrics, they must also plan for the 0.001 per cen who cannot comply.
“That means training frontline staff, creating an exception protocol, and accepting medical documentation. DRAC will be writing to NIMC to ask what their policy is for biometric exceptions.
“With the new NIMC Act allowing digital ID and facial verification, NIMC should fast-track that for vulnerable groups. There should also be public awareness so people with Adermatoglyphia know they are not alone and that they can demand accommodation.”
All groups linked the issue to Section two of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities Act on equal access to public services.
The experts inputted steps that are urgent. They called on the agencies to publish an official Biometric Exception Policy on its websites.
They noted that at JAMB CBT centres, banks, and NIN centres, staff should know that failure to capture fingerprints can be medical, not technical, and should refer affected candidates to a supervisor, not send them away.
The human rights groups emphasised that medical reports from a Consultant Dermatologist should be accepted alongside facial verification or an affidavit to complete registration of affected persons.
