NIN: SIM retrieval, passport processing affected as NIMC portal suffers downtime

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) says its national identification number (NIN) verification service is “temporarily unavailable”.

The NIMC verification service is an online real-time service that allows entities requiring verification to access the NIMC database. It connects the client to the NIMC core verification backend.

Telecommunication companies, banks, other financial institutions, and government agencies such as the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) rely on the service to verify the NIN of their customers before attending to them.

TheCable understands that Nigerians seeking to retrieve their lost subscriber identity module (SIM) cards or get new lines have been unable to do so for the past couple of days due to the downtime experienced by the NIMC portal.

The issue has also delayed passport application processes as the NIS could not verify the NINs of applicants.

Responding to complaints from Twitter users, MTN Nigeria said it cannot process SIM swap and update requests due to challenges with the NIMC portal.

“We are sorry we currently cannot process SIM swap and update requests due to external challenges. We appreciate your understanding and will post an update once this has been resolved,” the telco said.

Kindly bear with us. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/3AEH2F4KXq

— MTN Nigeria Support (@MTN180) February 3, 2022

Confirming the development in a statement released over the weekend, NIMC said maintenance of the verification portal caused the downtime.

The commission advised affected citizens to make use of the alternative tokenisation verification platform pending the conclusion of the maintenance.

“The National Identity Management Commission wishes to inform the general public that its NIN Verification Service is temporarily unavailable due to the maintenance service being carried out by one of the Commission’s network service providers,” the statement reads.

“The NIMC wants to assure the public that verification and authentication services would be restored once the maintenance is concluded.

“The Commission apologises for any inconvenience this might cause our esteemed customers, as all hands are on deck to ensure speedy restoration.

“Meanwhile, the public can make use of the alternative Tokenisation verification platform.”