Defence issues red alert on fake IDs production

The Nigerian military has issued a warning amid a surge in the unauthorised reproduction of national identity cards. Authorities also warned members of the public to be mindful of getting their national identification from sources other than the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). Officials said such acts of illegal reproduction of the national identity cards could engender a serious security breach in the ongoing counter insurgency operation in the northeast.

"The general public should guard against patronizing unauthorized agents to obtain their national identification as there are racketeers issuing fake cards for monetary and criminal gains," the Defence stated. "This would go a long way to assist the security forces in the containment of infiltration of illegal aliens who may wish to acquire the cards to legalize their migration into the country to support the terrorists in the fight against the Nigerian Armed Forces." The public has also been alerted approved national identity cards, which are chip-based, had a number of security features, some of which are not visible to the naked eye, distinguishing it from fake ones. It appealed to members of the public to report any attempt by unauthorized persons to issue, at any point in time, cards similar to the national identity cards to the security agencies.