By Maryam Shuaibu
President Bola Tinubu has signed into law the repealed and re-enacted National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act, 2026, in a move aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s digital identity system and improvingcoordination across government institutions.
The signing ceremony was held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and attended by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and other senior government officials.
The new legislation gives the National Identity Management Commission broader powers to harmonise identity records, synchronise government databases, and improve interoperability among public institutions to enhance service delivery and national security.
Speaking with journalists after the ceremony, Mr Akpabio said the integration of the NIMC database with the Ministry of Interior’s digital platforms had already produced tangible security gains.
According to him, security agencies recently used the integrated identity system to identify and arrest suspected terrorist operatives immediately after they arrived in Nigeria.
“Just last week, we were able to apprehend terrorist chiefs who were coming in from Saudi Arabia, in Katsina, of all places. When they landed, they just put their names on the computer; it revealed that these were criminals, and they arrested them,” the Senate President said.
The government says the updated law is expected to strengthen identity management, improve data sharing among public institutions, and support efforts to tackle crime, enhance public service delivery, and deepen Nigeria’s digital governance framework.