President Abdourahamane Tiani has officially launched Niger’s new biometric national identity card, personally enrolling for and receiving the first card. Designated as the CNIB-AES (Carte Nationale d’Identite Biometrique, Alliance des Etats du Sahel), the card makes Niger the second member of the three-nation Sahel confederation to roll out the shared biometric ID system, following Burkina Faso.
The card is valid for 10 years and mandatory for citizens aged 15 and above. It allows travel throughout AES member states, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, without a passport, and complies with ICAO standards. The card features polycarbonate materials with embedded biometric chips and digital archiving capabilities integrated into Niger’s civil registration infrastructure.
Interior Minister General Toumba Mohamed said a production contract with Libyan firm Al Itissal Al-Jadeed was signed with an eight-month delivery timeline, and the system was ready to issue its first card seven months in. Al Itissal Al-Jadeed Director General Abdul Mohymen Arrgaii described the project as “a fundamental pillar of building a sovereign digital infrastructure for the state,” adding that it would support public services, strengthen identity security, and meet international standards for digital identity management.
Niger signed a 15-year public-private partnership concession with Al Itissan Al-Jadeed in June 2025 covering both the biometric ID card and e-passport systems. Under the arrangement, Libyan firm Al Itissal Al-Jadeed works alongside Nigérien company HAZDI, which will hold the leadership role for local production of secure documents and associated knowledge transfer. The project was adopted by Niger’s ministerial council on December 26, 2025.
The card launch follows the AES biometric passport initiative announced by the three-nation alliance in 2024. Officials indicated the electronic passport phase is nearing completion, and a dedicated monitoring committee has been established to oversee production of both documents. Niger currently lacks dedicated data protection legislation. The country’s population is approximately 28.8 million.
Sources: Agence Nigerienne de Presse, Business Insider Africa, TechAfrica News
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By Ali Nassar-Smith
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