A Nigerian woman born without fingerprints has shared her difficult experiences with biometric identification systems, particularly during registration for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme and banking transactions.
The woman, who identifies herself on Instagram as Jidds, said she discovered she had the rare condition in 2017 while registering for her first JAMB examination.
According to her, officials struggled to capture her fingerprints, forcing her to spend several hours at the registration centre with her father.
She said officials tried various methods to make her fingerprints readable, including sand, spirit, methylated spirit, chalk and watermelon. At one point, she said, she had to scrub her hand against a stone before she was eventually able to complete the registration.
Her challenges continued during the examination, as she sometimes managed to authenticate her fingerprint when entering but could not do so when leaving.
“Sometimes I would be able to thumbprint in and I would not be able to thumbprint out,” she explained.
She said the problem had affected several areas of her life, including her participation in NYSC and routine banking transactions.
“Living in Nigeria without fingerprints 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 said.
During her NYSC programme, she reportedly had to use part of her foot for biometric verification because the ridges on her toes were also very faint.
The woman also spoke about the misconceptions surrounding her condition, saying some people had wrongly accused her of being a ritualist.
She identified her condition as adermatoglyphia, a rare condition characterised by the absence of the ridges that form fingerprints on the fingers, toes, palms and soles.
The condition can make conventional fingerprint scanners ineffective, creating difficulties for people who depend on biometric identification systems.
Jidds questioned why institutions that use biometric systems do not have clearer alternatives for people with the condition.
“If they have knowledge of this issue, why is it that there’s no provision for people like us?” she asked.
Her experience has also prompted other Nigerians with similar conditions to share their own difficulties with biometric systems at embassies, banks and during NYSC.
Dermatologist Dr Folakemi Cole-Adeife advised people with the condition to seek medical confirmation from a consultant dermatologist at a teaching hospital.
She said those diagnosed with adermatoglyphia could request official documentation confirming their condition and seek exemption from fingerprint-based biometric verification where necessary.
The development has renewed calls for institutions that rely heavily on fingerprint identification to provide alternative verification methods for people whose medical conditions make fingerprint authentication impossible.
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