I read a report today, and it seems like Nigeria has to update the NIMC (National Identity Management Commission) Act and make it compulsory for registration of deaths via churches, mosques, hospitals, community heads, etc all the way to the National Population Commission. One of the biggest risk vectors in the National Identification Number (NIN) in Nigeria is that it does not go dormant after the owner has died!
That loophole is breeding the next domains of financial fraud as criminals harvest NIN data, and cause severe problems. As NIN does that, banks have to decide if BVN (bank verification number) itself is still a requirement, and if indeed it is, it must also have a way to freeze it.
I call the EFCC to provide technical reports to the National Assembly so that it can update both the NIMC Act and the National Population Commission Act on some of the requirements I have noted. The report I read posits that if Nigeria does not deal with KYC challenges around BVN/NIN, our financial system may have problems.
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For most fintechs, remember this: KYC-based fraud is an existential threat, and do not break things and move fast on it. KYC is your DPC (as in building foundation); if you get it wrong, you have no business! Make real-time photo verification a mandatory requirement in your process.
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The challenge is beyond laws, it’s the capacity to enforce them. Nigeria does not have enough law enforcers for the number of deviants and miscreants in and outside its shores. In fact, the law enforcers are overwhelmingly outnumbered. What Nigeria tries to give is the impression that it can secure its borders and the people, but the actual capacity isn’t there.