Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A Nigerian woman who was born without fingerprints has opened up about the years of frustration she has endured navigating the country's biometric identification systems, from JAMB registration to NYSC verification and everyday banking transactions. The woman, who goes by the Instagram handle J for Jidds (@jidds.xo), shared her experience in a video posted on Saturday, August 22, 2026, revealing that she discovered her rare condition in 2017 while registering for her first Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board examination.
Jidds, who identified her condition as adermatoglyphia—a rare genetic disorder characterised by the absence or near absence of friction ridges on the fingers, toes, palms and soles—recalled that what should have been a straightforward registration turned into an all-day ordeal. She watched helplessly as more than 200 candidates registered before her, while officials struggled to capture her fingerprints. "I stayed there the whole day with my dad. I watched over 200 people register before me. It was—I cried," she recounted.
Desperate to make the biometric scanner work, officials tried everything from sand and chalk to methylated spirit and even watermelon. "I had to scrub my hand on a stone at a point. And then I got to register," she said. But the nightmare did not end with registration. During the examination, the biometric system sometimes recognised her fingerprints upon entry but failed to authenticate her when she attempted to leave. "Sometimes I would be able to thumbprint in and I will not be able to thumbprint out," she recalled.
The challenges followed her into other aspects of life. During her National Youth Service Corps programme, she had to resort to using a part of her foot for biometric verification because the ridges on her toes were also too faint. "It was not even my toe. It was, I think, a part of my feet that I used to thumbprint," she said. Banking transactions, which increasingly rely on fingerprint verification, have also become a source of persistent anxiety. "Living in Nigeria without fingerprints has been—has been terrible, honestly. From NYSC to JAMB to the bank, to any other thing that needs biometrics. I always have anxiety. It has been frustrating," she lamented.
Beyond the logistical hurdles, Jidds has also had to contend with damaging misconceptions about her condition. Some people have accused her of being a ritualist or questioned her humanity. "Some people will tell you that, 'Oh, you are a ritualist.' Some people will say, 'Ah, this one is a ritualist.' Some people will say, 'Ah, you carry too much hot things,'" she said. For years, she believed she was alone in her struggle. But after making a light-hearted post on Instagram, nearly 100 people reached out to share that they had the same condition.
Her story has prompted other Nigerians with similar experiences to speak out. One Instagram user, @ugothegogo, wrote, "OMG TWINSSSSS! Mine was on my right hand! Going to the embassy was horrific. NYSC was a nightmare because of this I feel so seen!". Jidds questioned why institutions that are aware of the condition still lack clear provisions for people like her. "If they have knowledge of this issue, why is it that there's no provision for people like us?" she asked.
JAMB does have a provision for candidates whose fingerprints cannot be captured. According to the Board's official FAQ, candidates identified as having biometric abnormalities can be handled at its headquarters in Abuja and allowed to take the examination there on the final day of the examination calendar. The existence of that provision, however, raises another question: how consistently are candidates with conditions such as adermatoglyphia identified and directed to that alternative at registration centres?
As Nigeria continues to digitise its identity systems and expand biometric verification across multiple sectors, Jidds' experience serves as a stark reminder that the system must accommodate those who fall outside the norm. For now, she continues to navigate a world that demands fingerprints from people who have none.
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