The National Identification Management Commission is the owner of the National ID, one of the four legal ways that a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria may prove their identity (NIMC).
The special number assigned to each person is called their NIN, or national identification number. The NIN is often of utmost importance since it serves as the person’s direct connection to the NIMC system.
This post will examine a practical method for checking your National Identification Number (NIN) on a mobile device (USSD Code). Dial *346# on your phone to check the NIN associated with any SIM (MTN, Airtel, Glo, or 9
Why is NIN important? Mobile
There are national identity projects in various stages of development in at least 48 African nations. A large part of the reason why there is such a broad push to guarantee that individuals can prove their identity is due to the poor rates of civil registration in many African nations, where millions of births and deaths often go unreported.
Four out of ten Africans are now without access to identification. People are vulnerable to challenges and exclusion in important activities including enrolling in school, becoming a citizen, accessing government social assistance, and having access to financial services, for example, without proper birth registration.
Target 16.9 of the Sustainable Progress Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) – “By 2030, ensure legal identification for everyone, including birth registration” – seems to have internationalised the vital significance of identity to human development.
International Development Organisations
Many African nations’ attempts to create these ID systems have been supported by international development organisations like the World Bank and the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement), mostly via financial support and technical guidance.
At least 60 identity initiatives in poor nations have received funding from the World Bank, which has also created a wealth of technical guidance on how identification systems should be implemented locally. However, a quick examination of the development of national ID systems in several nations reveals that such counsel is sometimes disregarded.
For instance, it was claimed that hackers broke into Argentina’s Reaper national ID system in September 2021 and gained access to millions of people’s details. The selling of Argentinean citizens’ identification information on the dark web suggests that tokenization-style data protection measures are not in place.
A protracted server failure in Nigeria in February brought to light the practical challenges that occur when a nation enforces a single source of identification and disregards the need to offer reliable alternatives.
To check your NIN, simply go through the following
- dial *346#
- From the options displayed, select “NIN Retrieval”, by typing in ‘1’ (only if you are using the same phone number you enrolled with for your NIN)
- Follow the steps displayed on your screen and provide the required inputs
- The NIN is displayed.
Note that there is an N20 (twenty Naira) cost for utilising this service (deducted from your phone credit balance). I suggest taking a snapshot of the code or noting it down elsewhere for future use.
This is a quick way to verify your National Identification Number (NIN) on a mobile device (USSD Code).
How to Validate your NIN Online for Free
People are constantly faced with the difficult task of authenticating the NIN that was provided to them after registering. The NIN was provided immediately upon registration, and anytime someone attempts to confirm it, it often returns “record not found.” There are two methods to do this, and according to what I’ve heard, option 2 is more effective:
Here’s how you can validate your NIN by yourself, online, and for free too:
- Visit the NIMC Verification Services Website
- Tap the ‘Verify NIN” button
- Enter your NIN
- Respond with the security code sent to you
- Confirm the correctness of your details
- Click Submit
If the first choice doesn’t work, I suggest that you go to any nearby NIMC office and request to “verify” your BVN. We are unable to determine if the product has a price. Normally, it takes 24 to 72 hours.
Try attaching the NIN to any of your SIMs to see whether the validation was successful. The procedure was successful if the connection was established.
It is very important that you know another way how to link another line with your NIN number so that you can not be frustrated with any activity you want to do in your NIN.
Simple Steps on How to Link your NIN (National Identification Number) to Your SIM
Knowing the numbers that will enable you to connect your NIN to your SIM is crucial since the Federal Government has instructed the NCC to prohibit any phone lines or SIMs that are not linked to your NIN. Please be aware that there are terms and limitations.
To link your NIN to your MTN,
- Dial *785# using the phone number you wish to link
- Enter your NIN and,
- Submit.
- Dial *785*NIN# from the phone number you wish to link
- Or
- Visit MyMTNApp and follow the prompts.
To link your Airtel SIM/line to your NIN,
- Just dial *121*1# to link your Airtel SIM to your NIN
To link your GLO SIM/line to NIN,
Simply go to your messages, create a new message, and type:
“UPDATENIN (space) NIN (space) FIRSTNAME (space) LASTNAME” to 109, for example, “UPDATENIN 23499384883 LASISI AGWU” to 109.
To link 9Mobile SIM/line to NIN,
- Simply dial *200*8# on your 9mobile SIM, add the NIN when prompted and submit.
- Simply visit their website at https://9mobile.com.ng/nin to follow up on the latest updates from them as they are yet to advise their customers on how to link straight from their mobile lines.
Conclusion:
By following the above-discussed processes, you may simply verify your NIN with any Nigerian network provider since it is now a crucial piece of information for KYC registrations. But bear in mind that each session of these procedures costs N20.
