The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has come under criticism following its recent announcement to increase the fee for correcting the date of birth (DOB) on the National Identification Number (NIN) database to N28,574, a sharp 75% rise from the previous charge of N16,340.
Barrister Oladipupo Ige, Director of Policy and Managing Partner at the Data Privacy Lawyers Association (DPLAN), challenged the move in an interview on Monday, saying the commission’s blanket fee hike violates data privacy laws. According to Article 36 of the 2025 General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID), individuals should not be charged for corrections that result from errors made by the data controller-in this case, NIMC.
“The law is clear: if the DOB error is the fault of the citizen, then payment is justified. But if the mistake is from NIMC, the correction must be free,” Ige said. He accused NIMC of failing to clarify which errors warrant fees and warned that charging all citizens without fault assessment breaches legal protections.
NIMC defended the fee increase, citing inflation at 32.7%, the need to align with charges by sister agencies such as passport and driver’s license services, and the goal of sustaining its infrastructure and expanding service offerings.
The commission’s new pricing structure also raised fees for other data modifications, including name and address corrections, now set at N2,000 from N1,522.
Ige urged NIMC to provide clear guidelines on fee exemptions and ensure Nigerians are not unfairly burdened by charges for mistakes beyond their control.
