NIMC Unveils Digital Pre-Enrolment to Speed Up Identity Registration
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has launched a digital pre-enrolment platform designed to significantly reduce waiting times for Nigerians seeking to register for their National Identification Number (NIN).
The new initiative allows applicants to fill out their demographic information online and schedule appointments before visiting enrolment centers for biometric capture.
Speaking on the development, the Director-General of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, stated that the platform aims to decongest enrolment centers and eliminate the bottlenecks often associated with the registration process.
“We’re very keen on ensuring that there’s a pre-enrollment service… So all you do is enrol, pre-enrol online, input all your information, and then you just walk in to do your biometric capturing at the centers,” Coker-Odusote explained.
Under the new system, applicants can visit the NIMC pre-enrolment portal to input their data in block letters. Once the information is verified by the applicant, they can print a summary sheet containing a 2D barcode.
At the enrolment center, the barcode is scanned by an officer, automatically populating the applicant’s details into the system.
This bypasses the time-consuming process of manual data entry at the center, leaving only the physical capture of facial images, fingerprints, and signatures to be completed on-site.
The NIMC boss emphasized that the self-service nature of the platform is also a strategic move to curb extortion.
By allowing citizens to handle their own data entry from the comfort of their homes or offices, the commission hopes to minimize direct contact with third parties who might demand illegal fees for “assistance”.
“If you’re able to do it yourself at home, why do you have to come in?” Coker-Odusote noted, reinforcing the commission’s zero-tolerance stance on extortion.
This digital upgrade is part of a broader infrastructure overhaul at the commission. NIMC recently announced that it has expanded its database capacity from 100 million to 250 million records to accommodate the growing number of enrollees.
As of May 2025, the commission reported that over 120 million Nigerians had been captured in the National Identity Database, with a target to register all citizens and legal residents before the end of the year.
The commission has also introduced a Self-Service Modification portal, allowing users to update their data—such as names and dates of birth—online without visiting a physical office.
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