Data Protection Commission Is Investigating Alleged Data Breach –Bosun Tijani

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has promised to investigate the illegal sale of Nigerians’ data by unauthorised websites.

In a lengthy post on his official X handle on Wednesday, Mr Tijani noted that he has liaised with the Minister of Interior who is in charge of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), to address the issue.

“I have engaged my colleague, the Minister of Interior, who supervises the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and I am aware that his ministry and the agency are on top of the matter.

“The @ndpcngr, 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,” the minister stated.

The minister was reacting to the purchase of his National Identity Number (NIN) on a private website, AnyVerify.com.ng.

About a week ago, a digital hub, Paradigm Initiative, had raised the alarm over the activities of private websites who sell the personal information of Nigerians under the guise of data verification.

To prove the seriousness of the situation, Paradigm Initiative said it was able to purchase the NIN slip of the minister for as little as N100.

In response to Paradigm Initiative’s report, the NIMC denied responsibility for the breach. The agency said Nigerians who visit such websites make themselves vulnerable to such attacks.