While the newly signed National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act 2026 has been widely celebrated for strengthening Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem, experts say its significance extends far beyond identity registration, OLUDARE RICHARDS reports.

The promulgation of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act 2026 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reopened debate on the implications of the new edit on digital identity, financial inclusion, e-governance and economic development.

Government officials hailed it as a landmark reform that will modernise Nigeria’s identity management framework, strengthen cybersecurity and reinforcethe National Identification Number (NIN) as the country’s foundational identity credential.

For experts within the criminal justice community, however, the legislation carries an even broader significance. They argue that beyond facilitating digital transactions and improving access to government services, the Act can foster an important foundation for a justice system increasingly built on authenticated identity, electronic records and scientifically credible evidence.

As criminals exploit encrypted communications, artificial intelligence, digital currencies and cross-border networks to conceal their activities, investigators are relying less on confessions and eyewitness accounts and more on digital footprints capable of withstanding judicial scrutiny. In that environment, trusted identity management is emerging as a critical component of modern policing.

Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, described the legislation as a major boost to Nigeria’s security architecture, arguing that stronger integration of identity systems would significantly enhance law enforcement capabilities.

“With what we have seen today with this law, it means that our security architecture can better be enhanced,” he said.

According to the minister, “when Mr. President came on board, we had a disconnected system within our identity data management system. Today, you cannot obtain a Nigerian passport without pulling data from NIMC. What you have in Immigration is what you have in NIMC.”

He disclosed that integration between NIMC, Immigration and international policing systems has already produced tangible security outcomes, citing the arrest of seven suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP commanders attempting to re-enter Nigeria through Katsina.

“I’m happy to tell you that seven known commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP were arrested while attempting to come back through Katsina. This was possible because NIMC’s identity platform now communicates directly with Immigration and Interpol,” he said.

Tunji-Ojo added that the recently established Integrated Operating Centre now enables authorities to coordinate intelligence across Nigeria’s air and maritime borders, while efforts are ongoing to strengthen surveillance along the country’s extensive land borders.

His remarks underscore a central message of the new legislation: identity management is no longer merely an administrative exercise but an integral component of national security and criminal justice.

Identity As Evidence
Experts caution, however, that the effectiveness of the NIMC Act will ultimately depend on implementation. They said identity databases must be accurate and secure. Investigators must be equipped to collect, preserve and analyse digital evidence. Prosecutors must understand the evidential value of electronic records, while judges must continue adapting to increasingly complex questions surrounding cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and digital authentication.

Equally important is collaboration. Modern investigations rarely fall within the competence of a single institution. Cyber-enabled financial fraud, terrorism financing, kidnapping and organised crime routinely require cooperation among intelligence agencies, forensic laboratories, telecommunications providers, financial institutions, immigration authorities and prosecutors.

By strengthening Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem, experts believe the Act will make it easier to authenticate identities, verify digital transactions and establish stronger evidential links between individuals and electronic activities—capabilities that are becoming indispensable as courts confront crimes committed largely in cyberspace.

Director-General of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, described the legislation as closing a legal gap that had persisted for almost two decades despite rapid technological change.

“For 19 years, the legal framework governing Nigeria’s identity management system remained unchanged while the digital landscape evolved rapidly. Today, that gap has been closed.”

She said the Act strengthens the National Identification Number as Nigeria’s foundational identity credential while introducing stronger safeguards for cybersecurity, encryption, digital signatures and personal data protection.

Those safeguards are especially significant for the justice system because electronic evidence derives much of its credibility from confidence that records have not been altered or manipulated. Strong identity management therefore complements forensic science by strengthening one of the most important links in the evidential chain.

Increasingly, investigators are required to establish who registered a SIM card, authenticated an online transaction, opened a bank account, accessed a digital platform or crossed an international border using specific credentials. Each of those questions ultimately revolves around identity.

A trusted digital identity system cannot secure convictions on its own, but it enables investigators to authenticate electronic records, verify ownership and lawfully connect individuals to digital activities.

From Information To Intelligence
These issues featured prominently at the 2026 Global Forensic Summit in Lagos, where judges, forensic scientists, intelligence specialists, legal scholars and technology experts examined the future of criminal investigations in an increasingly digital world.

Among the recurring themes was the growing importance of intelligence-led policing.
Founder of the International Academy of Forensics, Dr. Damilola Fagboro, argued that one of the greatest misconceptions about criminal intelligence is the assumption that intelligence is simply collected.

“People often assume intelligence is something that is simply collected. In reality, intelligence is generated.”

He explained that intelligence emerges only after information has been systematically collected, analysed, interpreted and validated.

The distinction is crucial. Raw information may be incomplete or misleading, while properly analysed intelligence enables agencies to detect criminal patterns, identify emerging threats and intervene before offences escalate.

That philosophy aligns closely with the objectives of the NIMC Act. A trusted national identity ecosystem strengthens investigators’ ability to authenticate records, verify identities and lawfully integrate information across authorised institutions.

Fagboro also reminded participants that technological sophistication alone does not determine the value of forensic evidence.

“The law is the gatekeeper of forensic evidence. It determines whether evidence is admitted and whether a practitioner is qualified to testify as an expert,” he said.

He challenged assumptions that academic qualifications alone confer expert status, arguing that competence, experience and relevance remain decisive in determining whether courts recognise individuals as expert witnesses.

Science Must Meet The Law
Retired judge and legal scholar, Justice (Prof.) AlabaOmolaye-Ajileye, echoed similar concerns, arguing that forensic science derives its authority not only from laboratory precision but from strict compliance with constitutional safeguards.

“Evidence obtained in violation of constitutional provisions risks being rejected by the courts,” he posited.

He observed that Nigeria’s criminal justice system has undergone important legislative reforms, particularly through the Evidence Act 2011 and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), both of which modernised the treatment of electronic evidence and introduced safeguards against involuntary confessions.

Section 84 of the Evidence Act established a legal pathway for admitting electronically generated evidence, provided investigators satisfy statutory requirements, including certification confirming the integrity of electronic records.

Although often dismissed as technical formalities, experts argue these safeguards have become indispensable in an era when digital files can be manipulated within seconds.

Justice Omolaye-Ajileye also highlighted ACJA provisions requiring confessional statements to be video-recorded or obtained in the presence of legal counsel or another person nominated by the suspect, reforms intended to reduce allegations of torture and strengthen investigative transparency.

Despite these reforms, he noted that criminal investigations still too often depend on confessions rather than objective scientific evidence.

Experts at the summit agreed that the consequences extend beyond failed prosecutions. Weak forensic practices increase the likelihood of wrongful convictions, allow genuine offenders to evade justice and erode public confidence whenever cases collapse because evidence was contaminated, improperly preserved or rendered inadmissible.

Legal scholar Oluwatomi Ajayi argued that addressing those shortcomings requires a fundamental shift from reactive policing to intelligence-led investigations. Drawing on the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Criminal Intelligence Manual for Analysts, she noted that law enforcement agencies worldwide are increasingly seeking to prevent crime by identifying patterns, emerging threats and organised criminal networks before offences occur.

For Nigeria, where security agencies simultaneously confront terrorism, kidnapping, cybercrime, organised fraud and human trafficking, such a transition represents more than procedural reform. It reflects a new philosophy of criminal investigation anchored on scientific analysis rather than confessional evidence.

Ajayi stressed that forensic science extends well beyond homicide investigations. Scientific evidence now plays an increasingly important role in commercial disputes, immigration matters, environmental litigation, family law, identity verification and civil proceedings. As Nigeria expands its digital identity ecosystem under the NIMC Act, she argued, forensic science will become even more central to validating identities, authenticating records and resolving disputes arising within an increasingly digital society.

Technology, however, has transformed crime as rapidly as it has transformed investigations. Criminals now exploit encrypted messaging platforms, synthetic identities, digital currencies and artificial intelligence to evade detection. Yet the same technologies are providing investigators with unprecedented forensic capabilities.

That balance between technological innovation and professional integrity was further explored by President of the Association of Forensic Sciences and Expert Witness, Nigeria, Prof. Abiodun Osiyemi.

For Osiyemi, the implications extend far beyond document examination. Artificial intelligence can rapidly analyse surveillance footage, financial records, digital devices and forensic reports, significantly reducing investigative delays within a justice system already burdened by congested courts and mounting case backlogs. Nevertheless, he warned against uncritical adoption of imported technologies.

His caution echoed one of the summit’s recurring themes: technology can strengthen justice, but it cannot compensate for weak institutions, poor scientific practice or unreliable data.

The same principle applies to DNA evidence, often regarded as one of the most persuasive forms of scientific evidence available to the courts.

Forensic molecular biologist, Dr. Onyekachi OgbonnayaIroanya, cautioned that the reliability of DNA profiling depends heavily on population-specific genetic databases. For decades, much of Africa has relied on reference systems developed largely from non-African populations.

“Biological baselines built on non-African populations can produce inaccurate results when applied locally,” she warned.

To address that gap, Nigerian researchers are collaborating with counterparts in South Africa to develop forensic Short Tandem Repeat (STR) systems specifically validated for African populations. Such work, she argued, will improve confidence in locally generated forensic evidence while strengthening the scientific basis of criminal investigations.

She also highlighted advances in messenger RNA (mRNA) and microRNA technologies, which now enable investigators not only to identify individuals from biological samples but, in some cases, determine the type of biological fluid recovered and estimate when it was deposited. Combined with drones, laser scanners, LiDAR systems and advanced photogrammetry that digitally preserve crime scenes, these innovations are transforming forensic science from a purely identification tool into a sophisticated means of reconstructing criminal events.

Yet throughout the summit, experts repeatedly stressed that technological innovation alone cannot repair systemic weaknesses.

Court Assessor with the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission, Coroner OyetadeKomolafe, noted that coroners’ inquests are frequently misunderstood as exercises limited to certifying deaths. In reality, they establish the circumstances surrounding suspicious deaths and often provide the factual foundation for criminal prosecutions, institutional reforms and broader public safety interventions.

He cited national tragedies such as the Synagogue Church of All Nations guesthouse collapse and the Dana Air crash as examples of how forensic inquests can establish facts, identify systemic failures and strengthen accountability even where criminal proceedings become prolonged.

Komolafe also sought to reassure citizens reluctant to report suspicious deaths for fear of harassment, explaining that reports can be made through appropriate forensic medical channels where necessary. He further observed that the Coroner’s Law was deliberately designed to minimise procedural obstacles that often frustrate criminal proceedings and clarified that forensic investigations frequently involve multiple specialist agencies, including pathologists, engineers, the NDLEA, EFCC and other statutory bodies depending on the nature of each case.

Standing alone, the legislation will neither eliminate investigative failures nor resolve longstanding weaknesses within
Nigeria’s criminal justice system. A trusted digital identity framework cannot compensate for contaminated crime scenes, inadequate forensic laboratories, poorly trained investigators or weak prosecutorial practice.

However, when combined with stronger forensic capacity, institutional collaboration, professional standards and sustained investment in scientific infrastructure, it can reinforce one of the most important pillars of evidence-based justice: the ability to establish identity with confidence and authenticate digital evidence in an increasingly interconnected world.

Nigeria already possesses much of the statutory framework required to support evidence-led justice through the Evidence Act, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the Coroner’s Law and now the NIMC Act 2026.

That means sustained investment in accredited forensic laboratories, continuous professional training, stronger collaboration among government agencies, universities and research institutions, and the development of locally validated forensic standards, particularly in emerging fields such as DNA analysis and artificial intelligence.

It also requires sustained public education so that citizens understand both the value of forensic science and the legal safeguards designed to protect their rights.

As criminal enterprises continue to exploit artificial intelligence, encrypted communications, synthetic identities and sophisticated transnational networks, experts insist Nigeria can no longer rely primarily on confessions, eyewitness testimony and conventional investigative methods to secure convictions.

Ultimately, the success of the NIMC Act will not be measured solely by the number of Nigerians enrolled in the national identity database. Its enduring legacy may instead lie in whether it helps anchor criminal justice on verifiable facts rather than contested confessions, providing investigators, prosecutors and judges with stronger tools to pursue truth while strengthening public confidence in the rule of law. In an era where identity itself has become evidence, the Act offers Nigeria an opportunity to build a justice system in which scientific certainty, institutional collaboration and constitutional safeguards collectively define the pursuit of justice.