Nigeria’s new identity law could complicate the passage of a long-awaited digital economy bill, with both frameworks covering digital identity and electronic signatures and potentially creating overlapping rules for businesses and government agencies.
Under the NIMC Act 2026, which replaced the 2007 Act, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is now Nigeria’s Root Certification Authority (Root CA). The designation puts NIMC at the centre of Nigeria’s digital trust infrastructure, with responsibility for issuing root digital certificates, verifying electronic identities and overseeing the trust framework for digital signatures linked to the National Identification Number (NIN).
A digital signature is a mathematical method for verifying that a digital document, email or message is authentic, has not been altered and was signed by the person claiming to have signed it.
The National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill, however, focuses on the legal validity of electronic signatures. It explains when an electronic signature can satisfy a legal signature requirement and establishes standards for digital signatures, including identity verification, sole control by the signer, data integrity, and the ability to detect subsequent changes.
