President Bola Tinubu has signed into law the repealed and re-enacted National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act, 2026, in a move aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s identity management system and improving coordination across government databases.

The signing ceremony took place at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, and was attended by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and other senior government officials.

The amended law empowers the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to harmonise identity records, synchronise government databases, and enhance interoperability among public institutions to improve service delivery, security, and governance.

Speaking to journalists after the signing ceremony, Senate President Akpabio said the recent integration of the NIMC database with the Ministry of Interior’s digital platforms has already yielded security gains.

According to him, the integrated system enabled security agencies to identify and arrest suspected terrorist operatives immediately after they arrived in Nigeria.

“Just last week, we were able to apprehend terrorist chiefs who were coming in from Saudi Arabia, in Katsina, of all places. When they landed, they just put their names on the computer; it brought out that these are criminals, and they arrested them,” Akpabio said.