Town Crier Writes and It Is Scary: Bosun Tijani’s NIN Slips Purchased Online for N100

By Mohammed Bello Doka

In a twist that seems more fitting for a spy thriller than reality, Gbenga Sesan, the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, has unveiled a security breach so glaring that it would make even the most seasoned cybercriminals blush. Sesan and his team managed to purchase the National Identification Number (NIN) slip of none other than Minister Bosun Tijani for the laughable sum of N100. Yes, you read that right—N100, barely enough to buy a decent suya, oh did I say Suya ? Perhaps Akara!

"Let’s get this straight," Sesan began, with the kind of smirk you reserve for when you catch your toddler with a hand in the cookie jar. "NIMC claims that Nigerians are willingly handing over their data to dubious websites. But here’s the kicker: this is NIMC’s own data, and we’ve got proof. We didn’t just stumble upon it; we actively went and bought the NIN slip of the minister, Dr. Bosun Tijani. And not just him; we got the NIN slip of Dr. Vincent Olatunji, the top data regulator in Nigeria. All for the princely sum of N100 each."

Imagine the shock on Monday morning when Sesan revealed this bombshell. It was as if someone had announced they’d found the secret recipe to jollof rice on eBay. "We did this to prove a point," Sesan continued, "This is not a joke. Your identity is essentially on sale for less than the cost of a bottle of water

. Think about it—anything we can do with a NIN slip, we can get a SIM card with that. It makes you wonder if someone out there has the President’s SIM card or the National Security Adviser’s number on speed dial."

But wait, it gets even juicier. Sesan painted a vivid picture of the potential chaos this breach could unleash. "Imagine a terrorist gets hold of a military general’s NIN slip, secures his SIM card, and sends a bogus message to the troops: ‘Meet me at 0700. 14 degrees north,’ only to lead them straight into an ambush. The implications are terrifying. Anyone can impersonate you. They can get your SIM card and do who knows what."

The real head-scratcher here is how we got to this point. It’s one thing for a random hacker to get lucky, but respected institutions like banks have leaked customer data before, so can we really trust the civil servants at NIMC to guard our data like Fort Knox? "I’ve always been wary of this data breach problem," Sesan admitted, "We just don’t seem to have the mentality or the facilities to protect citizens’ data in Nigeria. If banks can leak data to fraudsters, imagine what’s happening with hungry civil servants at NIMC."

In a country where your phone number can be sold for the price of a meat pie, it’s high time we demand better security measures. Sesan’s exposé is a wake-up call—a call for urgent action to safeguard our identities. As we grapple with these revelations, one thing is clear: our trust in these institutions is hanging by a thread. If we don’t act now, we might as well start selling our identities in the open market. After all, what’s a little privacy worth these days?