Police Recover Stolen Old National ID Cards

The Police have recovered the 4,555 old national identity cards allegedly stolen from a store house used by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in Calabar, Cross River State was recently.

At least four suspects who masterminded the burglary have been arrested by the police and are undergoing interrogation.

A statement by The store Spokesperson of the Commission, Mr. Loveday Chika Ogbonna a “facility where some materials and items inherited by NIMC from the defunct Department of National Civic Registration (DNCR) were kept, was broken into and items, including about 4,555 pieces of the old National ID Cards leftover after distribution years ago were stolen. The DNCR and all its assets and liabilities were taken over by NIMC in 2007.

“However, the 4,555 stolen old ID cards have been recovered, and four suspected thieves who were found in possession of the cards, were arrested by the Police in Cross River state at Eyo-Edem Street, Calabar. The suspects have also been charged to court by the police for the theft”.

Ogbonna  assured the public that the recovered cards were not part of the new National e-ID Card currently being issued by NIMC.

“The new National e-ID Card, which was launched in late 2014 is of higher technology, making it extremely difficult to be faked or used by anyone who is not the registered owner”, he clarified..