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NIMC #28,750 NIN Correction Fee Sparks Public Backlash: Nigerians Should Pay for the Agency’s Mistakes?
In May 2025, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) shocked many Nigerians by raising the fees to fix mistakes on their National Identification Number (NIN) records. The most talked-about fee is the new ₦28,750 charge to correct a date of birth, which went up by 75% from the old ₦16,340. Changing a name also became more expensive, rising from ₦1,522 to ₦2,000. This NIMC #28,750 NIN correction fee sparked public backlash because people feel it is too high, especially when some of these mistakes are not their fault.
Many Nigerians took to social media to complain. Some shared stories about being charged to fix errors made by NIMC workers. One person said their name was wrongly typed as “Olu” instead of “Ola” by an agent, but they still had to pay to fix it. Others said ₦28,750 is a lot of money, almost half a month’s salary for many people, and asked why they should pay for mistakes they didn’t make.
Legal experts have also spoken out. Oladipupo Ige, who works with the Data Privacy Lawyers Association of Nigeria, explained that the law says if the mistake was made by NIMC or its workers, people should not pay to correct it. According to Nigeria’s Data Protection Act and its rules from 2025, if the error is the fault of the data controller (which is NIMC), the citizen should get the correction for free. People should only pay if the mistake was their own.
Ige also pointed out that NIMC does not clearly tell people why their data is wrong or who made the mistake before asking for money. This lack of clear information makes it unfair to charge everyone the same fee. Nigerians deserve to know if the error is theirs or NIMC’s before paying.
The anger on social media shows that many Nigerians are frustrated not just by the high fees but also by how NIMC handles corrections. Some users say agents charge extra money unofficially to speed up the process, which makes things worse. NIMC says the fee increase is because of inflation and higher costs, but many people feel like they are being punished for the agency’s own mistakes.
Other countries handle this better. For example, in Germany and South Africa, if the government makes a mistake on your ID, fixing it is free. Their laws protect citizens and make sure agencies don’t charge unfair fees. Nigeria has good laws too, but the problem is that they are not being fully enforced or followed.
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To fix this, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) should step in and make sure NIMC follows the rules. They should check if NIMC is charging correctly and make sure people don’t pay for errors they didn’t cause. Nigerians can also complain to the NDPC if they feel they are being wrongly charged.
The NIMC #28,750 NIN correction fee sparked public backlash because many feel it is unfair to pay so much to fix mistakes that are not theirs. The law says corrections caused by NIMC errors should be free. For Nigeria’s digital ID system to work well, NIMC must be honest and fair. Otherwise, people will lose trust and suffer because of the agency’s mistakes.
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