Nigeria's verification platform passes one million certificate checks

The public verification service — the consumer-facing entry point to the NAVT Platform — has now processed more than one million certificate checks since launch.

How verification works

Every product carrying the Nigeria Halal Mark bears a unique identification number in the format NHM-NG-YYYY-NNNNNN, encoded in a scannable QR code. Scanning resolves to a public certificate view showing the product, the issuing certification body, the certificate status, and the validity period.

The check is live against Nigeria's registry. A certificate that has been suspended or revoked reports as such immediately, rather than continuing to appear valid because a printed mark remains on the packaging.

Beyond the public view

Consumers see certificate-level information. Importers, regulators and institutional buyers frequently need more — the full supply chain behind a specific batch. That information is released through a traceability request, which is reviewed by NHESICS and processed for a fee.

Trust in a mark depends on the mark being checkable. A seal that cannot be independently verified is decoration.

Enforcement signal

Verification data also functions as a surveillance input. Unusual scan patterns — a batch number scanned far more often than its production volume would support, for example — can indicate counterfeit application of the mark and are flagged for investigation.