Questions have been mounting over the House of Representatives threat to order the arrest of Mrs. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, director-general, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC),  for failure to appear before it to answer charges on refusal to pay for a state-of-the-art software development project executed by a private company, Truid Limited, for NIMC.

Mrs. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, director-general, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC),

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions had invited the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote, to appear before it to explain the commission’s failure to pay for the state-of-the art software development project executed by the private company, Truid Limited for NIMC. However, the NIMC DG has repeatedly failed to honour the committee’s invitation in person.

Honourable Mike Etaba, Committee’s Chairman, who was angered by the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote’s failure to appear before the committee to personally answer charges on the matter after repeated invitations, last month, issued a stern warning to order the Inspector-General of Police, to arrest the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote if she refused to appear before the committee at its next hearing, which was fixed for March 13, 2025.

However, it has been over two weeks after the Committee’s sitting of March 13, 2025; yet, there are no indications that the NIMC DG, Mrs. Coker-Odusote, honoured the committee’s invitation by personally appearing before it. The committee also appears to have failed to order the IGP to arrest her, leading to many raising questions over the seriousness of the committee to execute its threats. Others wonder why the chief executive of a government agency would refuse to personally appear before the House of Representatives to answer charges on a petition regarding the agency’s activities.

During its sitting of February 11, 2025 the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions threatened to order the arrest of the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Bisoye Coker-Odusote.

The committee said it would actualise the threat if Mrs. Coker-Odusote failed to come in person to answer charges on her refusal to pay for the state-of-the-art software development project.

Chairman of the committee, Mike Etaba, frowned at the continuous absence of the NIMC director-general despite several invitations.

In a statement by the Media Head, Public Petitions Committee of the House of Representatives, Chooks Oko, the Chairman of the Committee stated: “If she fails to show up at the next hearing of this case, we’ll have no option than to ask the Inspector-General of Police to bring her.

“How can an official of government treat constituted authority with such levity? We can no longer condone such attitude,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project was installed and deployed to the commission by a private firm, Truid Limited, which was alleging a breach of licence agreement by NIMC.

The statement added that the private company, Truid Limited, which executed the state-of-the-art software development project, is alleging a breach of licence agreement by NIMC, noting that E. R. Opara, counsel to Truid Limited, stated that the contract is premised on an arrangement whereby the Truid Limited funded, developed and deployed the “tokenization system project” without any financial obligation from NIMC.

According to E. R. Opara, counsel to Truid Limited, the agreement is premised on an arrangement that the project would be funded by the firm.

“Truid Ltd was to get returns on her investment through patronage of service providers and the proceeds shared on an agreed ratio. This was to run for an initial period of 10 years, from 2021 when the software was deployed,” Opara said.

According to the petition, things were going smoothly until the appointment of the new DG of NIMC, Mrs. Coker-Odusote, who has been trying to truncate the agreement.

When contacted to comment on whether or not the DG NIMC has personally appeared before the committee, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, Honourable Mike Etaba said: “For now, that matter has been stepped down!”

Honourable Etaba explained further why the matter was stepped down: “We are now taking that case on an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) route. That’s where the matter is now,” he said, adding, “the Committee is silent on it (the matter) until they give us the report of the ADR. That is when we will know what next to do.”

Asked when the ADR resolution he mentioned is meant to be concluded, Honourable Etaba stated: “I can’t say for now how and when the ADR will come up. That’s the situation of the case for now.”