National ID numbers to check bank fraud — NIMC

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The National Identify Management Commission has said the ongoing registration exercise will check cases of bank fraud in the country.

The commission expressed optimism that the new identity numbers would tackle the problem of insecurity.

The Director-General, NIMC, Mr. Chris Onyemenam, who stated this in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Saturday, also displayed equipment already installed to facilitate the registration exercise.

According to him, more than 500,000 Nigerians have so far been registered, adding that the issuance of the new identity cards would begin in September.

Onyemenam said, “The new identification numbers will stem the tide of crimes and corrupt practices in both the public and private sectors. The new identity card will checkmate bank frauds. That is the reason why the Bankers’ Committee is interested in developing a database.

“No matter the amount of money they have, it will take them a long time to get to where we are. We need to work on that. When we streamline, it will be easy to identify fraud cases.

“The registration is a continuous process and has no timeline. Compare it with the case of opening a new branch of a bank. They operate everyday without any timeframe. Right now, the enrolment centres we have are not enough.

“In each state, there are 10 enrolment units and are capable of enrolling 500 people a day. We hope to open local government enrolment centres before the year ends. We are currently discussing with government agencies on how we can open registration centres in their offices. This is pending when the private sector will fully get involved.”