Woman born without fingerprints recounts JAMB, NYSC biometric struggles

A Nigerian woman born without fingerprints has recounted the difficulties she has faced with biometric identification systems in Nigeria, including during Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board examinations, the National Youth Service Corps programme and banking transactions.

The woman, who uses the Instagram handle J for Jidds (jidds.xo), shared her experience in a video posted on Saturday.

She said she discovered the condition in 2017 while registering for her first JAMB examination.

Narrating her experience, she said the registration process became difficult after officials were unable to capture her fingerprints, leading her to spend hours at the registration centre with her father.

“I was born without fingerprints, and for many years, I thought I was the only person with something like this in Nigeria.

“Then I made a little joke on Instagram, and almost a hundred people reached out to me telling me that they had the same issue,” she said.

Recalling her first JAMB registration, she said, “I stayed there the whole day with my dad. I watched over 200 people register before me. It was—I cried.”

According to her, officials suggested several methods to make her fingerprints readable, including using sand, spirit, methylated spirit, chalk and watermelon.

“I had to scrub my hand on a stone at a point. And then I got to register,” she said.

She said the difficulty continued when she went to write the examination, as she sometimes could not authenticate her fingerprints to gain access or complete the process.

“Sometimes I would be able to thumbprint in and I will not be able to thumbprint out,” she said.

The woman said the challenge had affected several aspects of her life, particularly activities requiring biometric verification.

“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 said.

During her NYSC programme, she had to use a part of her foot because the ridges on her toes were also too faint.

She also recalled being subjected to misconceptions because of her condition, saying some people had called her a ritualist.

“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.’”

Jidds questioned why institutions that know about 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?”

The woman identified the condition as adermatoglyphia.

According to MedlinePlus, a website operated by the US National Library of Medicine, adermatoglyphia is the absence of ridges on the skin on the pads of the fingers and toes, as well as on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

Caused by mutations that disrupt the normal development of these epidermal patterns, it leaves the skin smooth and makes conventional fingerprint scanners useless.

While some forms may also involve reduced sweating or other mild skin differences, the primary and most noticeable effect is the complete or near-complete absence of fingerprints.

The post attracted comments from other people who said they had experienced similar difficulties with biometric identification.

One Instagram user, #ugothegogo, said the condition had made her experiences at an embassy and during NYSC difficult.

“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!” she wrote.

Another user asked whether toe prints could be used instead.

Responding, Jidds said, “the ridges are too faint, Toe print has saved me a lot of times tho.”

An Instagram user, #sophie_akah, also wrote, “OMG I was literally talking to my friend today about this! I’ve suffered in the bank tooth their lazy customer reps.”

A dermatologist, Dr Folakemi Cole-Adeife, who commented on the post, said people with the condition could seek medical confirmation and obtain documentation to support exemption from fingerprint biometrics.

“Anyone with this medical condition can visit a consultant dermatologist in a teaching hospital for a review and once adermatoglyphia is confirmed, you can request a letter of exemption from fingerprint biometrics from the hospital to JAMB or any parastatal requiring it,” Cole-Adeife wrote.

She added, “I have written exemption letters for a few people with this condition.”