The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has clarified that citizens will not be charged the new N28,574 fee for correcting their date of birth (DOB) on the National Identification Number (NIN) database if the error was made by the Commission or its agents.
This clarification came through a letter from Festus Esangbedo, Head of Legal Regulatory Compliance at NIMC, in response to a query by the Data Privacy Lawyers Association (DPLAN). DPLAN had raised concerns that the recent hike in DOB correction fees violated provisions of Nigeria’s data protection law, particularly where citizens are made to pay for errors not of their making.
NIMC recently raised the DOB correction fee by 75%, from N16,340 to N28,574. However, Article 36, Section 4 of the General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID) 2025, under Nigeria’s Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023, states that data subjects cannot be charged to fix errors introduced by a data controller or processor. The law also mandates that citizens must be allowed to verify their information before it is permanently stored.
DPLAN’s Director of Policy, Barrister Oladipupo Ige, emphasized that the law is clear: citizens must only pay if they are responsible for the data error. He warned that charging all applicants the new DOB correction fee, regardless of fault, would be unlawful.
Responding to these concerns, Esangbedo explained that NIMC’s policy follows a “fault-based approach.” Errors caused by NIMC or its agents are corrected free of charge once brought to the Commission’s attention. The N28,574 fee, he noted, is reserved for voluntary updates initiated by applicants such as when new documents are presented to change previously submitted DOB details.
Esangbedo further clarified that the current self-service modification system requires applicants to verify their information through several steps, including automatic validation of National Population Commission (NPC) certificates and a review stage before final submission.
“These fees are not for correcting our errors they’re for additional services that individuals request after registration,” he said. He added that the charges also help maintain service quality and curb fraud.
In its pricing summary, NIMC stated that the upward fee review was influenced by rising inflation currently at 32.70% as well as internal directives to increase revenue, harmonize taxes, and introduce new services. Comparisons with fees charged by other government agencies, such as those for passports and driver’s licenses, also factored into the decision.
NIMC reaffirmed its commitment to providing quality public services, sustaining its infrastructure, and ensuring operational self-reliance.
