COVID-19: Rights group Urges FG to Halt NIN Registration as Infections Rise

A rights organisation, African Centre for Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR), at the weekend, urged the Federal Government (FG) to suspend the ongoing registration for the National Identity Number (NIN) being carried out by the Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC) across the country.

This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by the Executive Director of the group, Mr Nduka-Edede Chinwendu.

The group stated that the call became necessary as more innocent citizens were being infected on daily basis going by the figures being released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

It further urged the Federal Government to extend the deadlines for NIN/SIM registration linkup ordered by the National Communication Commission (NCC) which brought about the large crowd now being witnessed at the registration centres nationwide.

The group observed with regret the daily significant increase in COVID-19 infections being recorded in Nigeria.

According to the group, “there is no doubt that the lives of helpless Nigerians who are joining huge crowd daily in their bid to get registered are being exposed to the dreaded virus.

“Lack of crowd control has so far characterised the ongoing exercise nationwide, therefore making social distancing which is one of the major non-pharmaceutical measures recommended to curtail the spread of the virus practically impossible.”

It advised that the only way to avoid the possible spread of COVID-19 at the crowded NIN registration centres was for the Federal Government to halt the exercise immediately and for all the stakeholders to return to the drawing board for proper planning.

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