Federal Government says it has launched an investigation into the alleged breach of data of Nigerians domiciled with the National Identity Management Commission.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, in a statement via his X handle, said the NIMC and National Data Protection Commission have commenced a probe into the matter.
Recall that Paradigm Initiative, a pan-African social enterprise, had on Thursday raised the alarm over an alleged sale of National Identification Numbers, Bank Verification Numbers and other personal data of Nigerians on a website for as low as N100.
The organization alleged that a popular website was found to be involved in the commercial distribution of personal and private data of Nigerians.
But on Sunday, NIMC spokesman, Kayode Adegoke, assured Nigerians that their data weren’t compromised.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Show, a Senior Manager at Paradigm Initiative, Adeboye Adegoke, said the Minister’s data was bought for N100 on certain websites.
In response to the development, Tijani said he had engaged his colleague in the Ministry of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, adding that they are on top of the matter.
Tijani said, “Second, the NDPC, a year old agency under my supervision as minister, has over the last few months created data compliance mechanisms for all MDAs and has since started a thorough investigation as to the circumstances surrounding this alleged breach.”
