Citizenship in Nigeria is regulated by Chapter III of the 1999 Constitution. There is no implementing legislation, since the 1960 and 1961 Nigerian Citizenship Acts were repealed in 1974 when the original jus soli framework was amended; in 1979 a new constitution established the current framework.
The law does not discriminate against women in terms of their ability to pass their citizenship to their children, but does restrict their ability to pass nationality to their non-citizen spouses. The law fails to include a saving provision to ensure access to nationality for children of unknown parents or children born in Nigeria who would otherwise be stateless. In relation to those who became citizens at independence, the constitution requires that those born in Nigeria became Nigerian provided that one parent or grandparent belonged to “a community indigenous to Nigeria”, without defining what “indigenous” meant.
The question of belonging to an “indigenous community” also has importance in relation to broader rights of participation and the rights of Nigerian citizens within the different states of the federation. Rules relating to public appointments require respect for the “federal character” of Nigeria, with reference to the state of which a person is an “indigene”. Being labelled a non-indigene can lead to higher costs for education, inability to access state jobs and other forms of discrimination.
The decision of the International Court of Justice transferring sovereignty of the Bakassi peninsula from Nigeria to Cameroon has also left a large number of people at risk of statelessness, including former residents of the peninsula who have relocated to Nigeria.
Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja The Federal Government has introduced the ‘Brown Card’, a new legal instrument for permanent residency for eligible foreign nationals. This was as it conferred Nigerian Citizenship on 385 deserving adult foreign nationals from different countries. In his […]
A total of 385 nationals of other countries on Saturday became Nigerians citizens by Registration and Naturalization to 385 Foreign Nationals at a ceremony held at the Nigerian Correctional Service Headquarters in Abuja. Among the 385 recipients of the 2023 […]
The group pleaded with the court for a speedy hearing and determination of its suit seeking the probe and prosecution of Mr Tinubu over his alleged Guinean citizenship. By Ameh Ejekwonyilo A civil society organisation has asked the Federal High […]
By Claire Mom The federal government says 160 women claiming to be Nigerians in war-torn Sudan have no passports to fly back to the country. In a press briefing on Sunday, Mustapha Ahmed, director general of the National Emergency Management […]
BAUCHI –The United Nations Children Fund(UNICEF) has stressed the need for parents to register their children at birth, saying that birth registration protects them from exploitation and abuse as Children without birth certificates are more vulnerable to child labor, child […]
The AU official told Daily Sun that Tinubu got his Guinean citizenship because the former President of Guinea, Alpha Conde, saw him as a special envoy. Ousmane Yara, the African Union Ambassador, has claimed that Nigerian “President-elect”, Bola Tinubu got […]
Timothy Choji, Abuja The Nigerian government has granted citizenship to 385 foreign nationals residing in the country. The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola disclosed this on Wednesday to State House Correspondents, at the end of this week’s meeting of the […]
The controversy surrounding the life of Nigeria’s ‘president-elect’, Bola Tinubu does not appear to have an end in sight. The latest controversy surrounds trending photos of Tinubu’s alleged Guinean passport, implying that the ‘president-elect’ has dual citizenship. There had been controversies […]
Extracts relevant to Africa: Implementation of the Global Action Plan Action 1: Resolve existing major situations of statelessness On 12 December, during Kenya’s 59th Jamhuri Day (Independence day) celebrations, President Dr. William Ruto announced that the Government will “initiate modalities […]
By Solomon Odeniyi The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has lamented the cumbersome process foreigners are subjected to while applying to be citizens of the country. The PUNCH reports that chapter III of the Nigerian 1999 constitution stated that an […]
Mr Aregbesola said the mass migration is having a huge impact on the functions of his ministry. By Chiamaka Okafor Over 300 Nigerians have renounced their citizenship in the last 16 years, with over half of them renouncing last year, […]
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) issued the highest number of passport booklets totalling 1,899,683 in over seven years, the Nigerian government has said. It was also learnt that at least 150 Nigerians renounced their citizenship between 2006 to 2021, while […]