Woman born without fingerprints recounts JAMB, NYSC biometric struggles

A Nigerian woman, known on Instagram as J for Jidds, has shared her struggles with biometric identification systems in Nigeria due to her rare condition. Born without fingerprints in 2017, she faced challenges registering for her first Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination and later during her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program.

Despite suggestions from officials to use alternative methods like sand, chalk, and watermelon, her fingerprints remained unreadable. This condition, known as adermatoglyphia, causes the complete absence of fingerprint ridges, making conventional fingerprint scanners ineffective. Jidds recounted how the difficulty extended to everyday activities requiring biometric verification, including banking transactions and other official processes.

The woman expressed her frustration, stating that living without fingerprints has been "terrible" in Nigeria. She questioned why institutions were unaware of clear provisions for people like her, who have this rare condition. The post garnered responses from others who shared similar experiences and sought advice on alternative methods, such as using toe prints.

A dermatologist confirmed that individuals with adermatoglyphia can obtain a letter of exemption from a dermatologist to avoid fingerprint biometrics.