NIA - We Wont Shield Criminal Conduct of Staff

THE National Identification Authority (NIA) has assured that it would not shield any of its staff who would engage in any criminal conduct in the line of duty in relation with the ongoing registration exercise.

In a press release following allegations of two separate registration malpractices, the Authority urged the general public to assist it in exposing any official who would want to abuse the process.

An officer of the NIA in Abossey Okai, Timothy Wuni, was on Monday arrested for attempting to register Nigeriens when the exercise was only meant for Ghanaians.

On Tuesday, a set of registration officers of the Authority were busted for allegedly registering people for the national identity card at night in Awudome, near Kaneshie here in Accra.

But in its press release, the Authority said the isolated cases would not affect the integrity of the register.

"The integrity of the National Identification System is intact, and the Authority will continue to ensure that the information captured into the National Identity Register will be protected from any kind of unauthorised access," the release signed by ACI Francis Palmdeti, Head of Corporate Affairs, NIA, said.

In the second scenario where some officers were arrested for registering people at night, Mr Palmdeti allayed fears of the citizenry saying that equipment retrieved from the officers could not be used to register and issue Ghana cards.

"The equipment is referred to as a Mobile Registration Workshop (MRW) which is used in capturing personal information of eligible applicants. The MRW on its own cannot be used to register and issue cards to applicants," he stated.

The MRW retrieved from the alleged persons, Mr Palmdeti said was in the custody of the police and that the NIA would cooperate and assist the police in their investigations.

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