A Nigerian woman known online as Jidds has shared the unusual challenges she has faced after being born without fingerprints.
She recalled struggling with JAMB registration in 2017, where she watched hundreds of candidates complete the process while officials tried repeatedly to capture her fingerprints.
The experience became so frustrating that she eventually broke down in tears.
Her difficulties continued beyond JAMB. During NYSC biometric verification, she said she had to use part of her foot because her fingers could not produce a fingerprint.
She said banking and other services that depend on fingerprint identification have also required her to repeatedly explain her condition.
Jidds identified the condition as adermatoglyphia, a rare condition in which a person lacks the ridge patterns that form fingerprints.
Her story has since encouraged other Nigerians with similar experiences to speak out about their own struggles with biometric systems.
JAMB has provisions for candidates with biometric abnormalities, including alternative arrangements for those whose fingerprints cannot be captured.
Jidds’ experience, however, has raised questions about how easily people with such conditions are identified and accommodated at registration centres.
After sharing her story, she said nearly 100 people reached out to her with similar experiences, making her realise that what had felt like an isolated problem affects more Nigerians than she had imagined.
