Nigeria’s national identity enrolment has surpassed 142 million Nigerians and legal residents, the National Identity Management Commission said on Wednesday, as the Federal Government targets 95 per cent NIN coverage by December 2026.

Director-General of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, disclosed the latest figure at the 2026 National Day of Identity in Abuja, saying enrolment had grown from fewer than 100 million records to more than 142 million.

The event, themed “Nigeria’s Digital Public Ecosystem: Powering Africa’s Digital Economy,” focused on the growing use of digital identity in government services, banking, telecommunications, social protection and other parts of the economy.

Coker-Odusote attributed part of the increase to the commission’s community-based enrolment drive, which has taken registration services closer to underserved areas.

NIMC has also deployed National Youth Service Corps members as enrolment officers in communities where conventional registration centres are limited.

The commission said the capacity of the National Identity Database has now been expanded to 250 million records, up from about 100 million, as enrolment and identity-verification requests continue to increase.

President Bola Tinubu, represented at the event by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the government wants NIMC to achieve 95 per cent NIN enrolment coverage before the end of December.

Tinubu said a reliable digital identity system would play an important role in Nigeria’s digital economy by supporting secure access to financial services, healthcare, education, social protection and government services.

The latest figure represents further growth from the more than 136 million enrolments reported in July 2026, when NIMC announced another milestone following the signing of the new National Identity Management Commission Act.

It also marks a significant increase from the 126 million enrolments reported at the 2025 National Identity Day, meaning millions of additional people have been added to the database over the past year.

NIMC said its self-service platform has processed close to two million identity-record updates, reducing the need for some Nigerians to visit physical offices to make changes to their records.

The commission has also expanded NIN enrolment services outside Nigeria, with services now available at nearly 1,000 locations across about 100 countries, according to Coker-Odusote.

The expansion follows the signing of the NIMC Act 2026 by President Tinubu in June, replacing the previous 2007 law.

The new legislation gives NIMC an expanded role in Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem and designates the commission as the country’s Root Certification Authority for Public Key Infrastructure, strengthening its role in secure digital authentication and electronic transactions.

NIMC said it is also introducing technology to detect duplicate and synthetic identities, while working with security agencies and other government institutions to reduce identity fraud and improve the reliability of the national database.

The commission currently works with agencies including the Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigeria Immigration Service, Corporate Affairs Commission, education authorities and social-protection institutions to use the NIN as a common means of identity verification.

NIMC’s official guidance states that the National Identification Number is assigned after successful enrolment and biometric verification, and is increasingly required for services ranging from banking and telecommunications to passports, pensions and government programmes.

The 142 million figure refers to people enrolled in the national identity database, including Nigerians and legal residents. It should therefore not be described simply as “142 million Nigerians with NINs” without that qualification.