Nigeria has continued to prove that corruption is running in its vein as they take every opportunity to perpetuate it.
The Federal Government’s recent announcement that phone numbers that are not synchronized with National Identity Number (NIN) has brought about a rush in various offices of the National Identity Management Commission.
The rush has been seen as opportunity to extort money from the citizens by officials of the commission as some officials of the National Identity Management Commission were accused of harassing and demanding ₦1000 from enrollees who want to get the National Identity Number in the Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State.
Report has it that the NIMC officials and enrollment officers insisted that until the money was paid, enrollees would not be given the information data forms to fill. One of the victims of the extortion, Mr Kingsley Unegbu, who went to enrol on Thursday said that the NIMC needs to investigate the fraudulent acts and bring the officials to book.
Unegbu, who also wrote a petition to the NIMC authorities on the extortion, noted that he was disappointed that the enrollees would pay for forms marked, ‘free and not for sale.’
Some part of his petition reads, ‘The NIMC staff or enrolment officers were extorting and demanding the sum of ₦1000 from each enrollee before giving out the information data forms to fill. I resisted and refused to give any money to the enrollment staff after they issued me with the form.’
‘I was besieged with stiff resistance by the staff of NIMC who forcefully withdrew the form from me and pushed me out of the arena.’
‘The enrolment officer, who I could not identify his name, boldly came out and addressed us, saying that the money they were collecting from us are known to their bosses at the head office, and I cannot do anything about it.’
‘I am therefore calling on the management of NIMC to carry out a thorough investigation on this petition and bring all the culprits to book because this amounts to official gross misconduct and corrupt practices.’
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK