NIN: Pantami, NIMC Cry Out As Fake Twitter Account Threatens Nigerians On SIM Update

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami has warned Nigerians not to fall victim to a fake Twitter account posing as the official page of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The warning follows a threat issued on Tuesday by the fake account which told Nigerians to be ready to face the consequences of the inability to link their National Identification Number (NIN) with their SIM cards once the deadline for the linkage expires.

The fake account had written: “By order of the federal government, today is given as the last chance to register your NIMC or face the wrath of what comes next.”

However, the Minister in a disclaimer later on Tuesday which was also retweeted by the NIMC official Twitter account said the statement didn’t emanate from any government official.

It warned that the account is fake.

Further checks by Naija News on the Twitter account which sent out the initial warning also revealed it is a parody account.

The NIMC went ahead to share pictures of the two different Twitter account pages and pointing out the difference so members of the public can stay clear of the fake account.

It warned Nigerians against sending any personal information to the fake account and also desist from transacting business with the account.

It said: “The Twitter account @NIMC_ng is an imposter account. The official Twitter account of NIMC is @nimc_ng.

“Your NIN is your identity, avoid divulging personal information to fraudsters using parody accounts to harvest personal information of individuals”.

This is not the official handle of the Nationa Identity Management commission (NIMC). The official handle is @nimc_ng. Beware of fraudsters, pls.
Furthermore, the deadline for those without NIN is not today, but 9th of February as announced by the NCC. The process continues pls https://t.co/4UrkkYEt7T

— Isa Ali Pantami, PhD (@DrIsaPantami) January 19, 2021

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says telecommunications companies have submitted 47.8 million National Identification Numbers (NINs) to enable subscribers link them with their SIM cards.

In a statement signed by, Director of Public Affairs of NCC, Ikechukwu Adinde, on Tuesday, the NCC said this means that many millions will be linked up before the deadline on February 9.

Adinde noted the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, expressed satisfaction with this achievement.

He added that the minister also expressed the federal government’s appreciation towards stakeholders and citizens for their commitments.

Adinde said Pantanmi urged those who are yet to link their NIN to their SIM cards to endeavour to do so before February 9, 2021.