By Catherine Egwuom and Lilian Okoro
For millions of everyday Nigerians, personal identity remains a sacred anchor, making any alterations to official names a deeply sensitive and life-altering undertaking.
From marriage and relocation to aligning certificates with West Africa Examinations Council Nigeria, Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and National Identification Number records, Nigerians frequently adjust their official identities for crucial life events.
Aligning bank accounts, pension funds, and Bank Verification Number profiles with new identities usually drives thousands daily to seek routine name corrections for seamless financial transactions.
Cultural rebirths and religious conversions also prompt many citizens to discard former names, seeking official recognition that reflects their newly embraced heritage or faith.
Normally, citizens simply execute a court affidavit and publish a notice in national newspapers, believing those two steps fully updated their legal identity nationwide.
However, this widespread, informal practice leaves severe gaps, leaving public institutions, examination bodies, and financial regulators vulnerable to identity fraud and pervasive record discrepancies.
A Supreme Court decision in the 2021 PDP versus Degi-Eremienyo case highlights Nigeria’s procedures for change of name, correction of, and alteration of name on official documents and records.
The ruling stemmed from a Bayelsa governorship election dispute involving alleged false information in Independent National Electoral Commission Form CF001 submitted by the APC candidate.
The Federal High Court disqualified the respondent and his running mate under Section 31(6) of the Electoral Act after finding the information false.
While the Court of Appeal overturned the decision, holding that no reasonable cause existed for disqualification by INEC, the appellant appealed further.
The Supreme Court subsequently affirmed the Court of Appeal’s judgment and clarified the lawful procedure for changing names on official certificates and records.
In its judgment, the apex court held that affidavits and newspaper publications were insufficient for altering official records.
It ruled that only a Deed Poll, approval by the issuing authority, and publication in the Official Gazette could affect such changes.
The court noted that the judgment effectively replaced the long-standing practice of relying on affidavits and newspaper publications with a more formal legal process, adding that the procedure would also affect official records and national archives, particularly records maintained by the National Population Commission, NPC, under the National Civil Registry.
Under this clarified legal framework, the procedure involves a Deed Poll prepared by a lawyer bearing the lawyer’s seal.
This means an applicant will need the services of a lawyer for the drafting.
Once the Deed Poll is signed by the person who wants to use it, it becomes binding on the person and shows an intention to change, correct, or alter names and use a new name for all purposes.
Thereafter, an application letter for the change addressed to the ‘Chairman, National Population Commission’ must be written.
One would then approach the Legal Department at the NPC with the signed Deed Poll and letter for submission. For now, all applications must be submitted at the NPC’s Abuja office.
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The Supreme Court decision has generated widespread public debate over whether the clarification required litigation before the apex court could settle the procedure, resulting in a viral social media post titled: “Change of name is no more newspaper publication”.
Reacting to the development, an official close to the management of NPC confirmed that the Commission was currently in an ongoing process to digitise change of name procedures in Nigeria.
He explained that July 1 was earmarked as the official take-off date for the Commission to begin the digitised system.
The official decried that the former analogue process of deposing an affidavit and newspaper publication for change of name was filled with lots of loopholes, manipulations, and adulteration, which rendered it ineffective.
According to him, the whole idea is to transform the analogue process into a digitised online method where a deed poll prepared by a licensed lawyer will be submitted to the NPC Gazette and a certificate for a change of name issued at the end of the process.
The official emphasised that the Lagos State office, alongside other NPC offices, was currently waiting for their Abuja headquarters to finalise the template and process and issue directives on how the new system would operate.
“The truth is that there’s an ongoing process by the Commission to transform the analogue process of doing affidavit and newspaper publication into a digitalised online method.
“This means that applicants will process their change of names or alteration of names online given the requirements of portal when released.
“As it stands, it’s our headquarter in Abuja that has the final say, and we are waiting for its directives.
“Since July 1 supposedly to have been the kick-off date, I believe the directives will come in anytime soon,” he said.
Shedding more light, another staff of NPC, who pleaded anonymity, explained that the new protocols when deployed on the official database, would stipulate the entire requirements and steps to be taken.
According to the person, a deed poll is a legal document that proves a change of name, usually prepared by a licensed lawyer.
The officer noted that every necessary information regarding operation of the digitised system would fully be communicated to the public when it eventually kicked off.
Highlighting the importance of the digitisation, the officer lamented the existence of numerous fake changes of name documents in the public domain.
“The whole objective is to improve, authentication the change of name process and document, thereby bridge the gap for fake document.’’
Also speaking, Mr. Chukwuemeka Dike, a Tech, Privacy, and Human Rights Advocate, described the Supreme Court’s judgment as a ‘welcome development’.
“A name represents a person’s identity. It is a personal identifiable information that confirms who a person is.
“For one to change his or her name, it is not enough to simply depose an affidavit or publication in a newspaper.
“A deed poll is an agreement signed by one person binding him or her to a declaration.
“As such, it is of more benefit to an individual who intends to change his name through a deed poll than an ordinary affidavit,” he said.
NAN
