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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has said his ministry and agencies under it cannot go after criminals using individuals’ details on the National Information Management Commission’s (NIMC) data base.
Pantami had made NIN mandatory for all Nigerians with over 70 million defaulting SIMs barred for non-compliance as the minister defended the policy as mandatory in order to fight insecurity and secure the country.
“On the issue of NIN-SIM Verification to fight insecurity, there is no going back. Our priority as government based on the provision of our constitution 1999 (as amended) Section 14(2)b is Security, not just economy. If you are yet to verify your SIM using NIN, do it very soon, before our next action. Criminals are feeling the heat.”
However, fielding questions from journalists at the press conference heralding the Digital Nigeria Day 2022, yesterday, in Abuja, the minister said tracking and monitoring criminals using the National Identity Number (NIN) was not part of the mandate of his ministry or that of agencies under him.
“It is not my mandate. That is why in all the eight priority areas, I have not been given any one to do with that. We only initiated it (NIN) to support security institutions, but it’s not our priority. It is only out of patriotism we did it. If you provided food to your visitor, whether he eats or not is your issue. What is important is to provide; we have provided, we have sanitised the data base. We made it mandatory. Whether they utilise it or not, it is not my responsibility to go and investigate. It is not our mandate to start tracking, saying this is a criminal. We are not a security institution. Our job is only to provide a platform for them, which we have done voluntarily. Whether they utilise it or not, I don’t know. But I have never been contacted.”
Pantami, however, said there were some success stories associated with NIN which are not disclosed to the public for confidentiality and security purposes.
“There was certain thing that happened in Abuja, through that data base it was curtailed 100 per cent and we cannot explain the processes and strategies so that we don’t compromise. And security issues are not for media briefings like this. They are highly strategic and confidential,” he said.
