The ways in which citizenship can be acquired in Nigeria
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Christian B Denton
City Law Associates, Lagos
dentonbabatunde@yahoo.com
Since the dawn of man, people have been migrating from their place of origin to
different settlements, settling there and becoming a part of the community. In the
globalised world we live in today, many people move to different jurisdictions and
acquire citizenship of the countries they have settled in. Sometimes, they visit
another country with no intention of settling there but to give birth, in order for
their offspring to acquire citizenship of the country.
According to Justice Wetson in Lavoie v Canada,[1]‘citizenship is a juristic and
political status in which an individual enjoys full, legally sanctioned membership
in a state and owes full allegiance to it’.[2] Citizenship is a status that is
legally granted to an individual by a state which enables said individual to enjoy
the privileges and responsibilities that comes with that status.
There are three ways in which citizenship is acquired in Nigeria. They are:
citizenship by birth;
citizenship by registration; and
citizenship by naturalisation.
Citizenship by birth
Section 25 of the Nigerian Constitution[3] explains in detail those individuals who
are eligible for Nigerian citizenship under this category. People eligible for
citizenship under this category are:
Individuals that are born in the territory of Nigeria after 1 October 1960 that
have at least a parent or grandparent who belongs or belonged to a community
indigenous to the geographical location known as Nigeria. Communities indigenous to
Nigeria include Yoruba, Hausa/Fulani, Igbo, Kanuri, Erik, Urhobo, Kanuri, Erik,
Ibibio, Itshekiri and many others. This subsection lays emphasis on the word
‘indigenous’ to Nigeria, which means that you must have blood ties to Nigeria.
Individuals born outside of Nigeria whose parents or grandparents were or are
citizens of Nigeria are eligible to apply for citizenship of Nigeria by birth. This
subsection deals with citizenship by birth via descent.
It is important to note that under this section it is impossible for a person to
claim Nigerian citizenship by birth if none of their parents nor grandparents were
born in Nigeria. You must have blood ties in order to be a Nigerian citizen by
birth.
Citizenship by registration
This category of citizenship is covered under Section 26 of the Nigerian
Constitution. An individual could be issued a certificate of citizenship of Nigeria
if they satisfy all of the following conditions:
The person is of good character. The candidate requires two persons to testify
before this statement; one of them should be a religious minister.
The person expresses and shows a clear desire to be resident in the country. This
can be done by fulfilling residency requirements necessary to qualify as a citizen.
The oath of allegiance to Nigeria, which is provided by Schedule 7 to the Nigerian
Constitution, has been administered on the person. The oath of allegiance is
administered by a representative of the government in a citizenship ceremony.
The Nigerian Constitution also provides for the following individuals under Section
26(2) of the Constitution to be a Nigerian citizen by registration:
A woman who is married to a man from Nigeria. The Constitution does not state the
same for a man who is married a woman from Nigeria, due to the patriarchal nature
of the society.
Where the individual's grandparents are from Nigeria and the individual has grown
to a capacity and approved age. This is strictly for those who are descended from
Nigerian grandparents and wish to register themselves as citizens once they have
attained the age of consent and are not mentally incapacitated.
Citizenship by naturalisation
Another means of citizenship in Nigeria is citizenship by naturalisation. Section
27 of the Constitution makes provision for this, provided certain requirements are
met subject to Section 28 of the Constitution. If the person is confident that they
meet the following requirements, a written application is then made to the
President applying for a certificate of naturalisation. The requirements are as
follows:
The applicant must be of full age and capacity (aged 18 and above).
The person is of good character. A minimum of two people are needed to testify to
this statement; one of the parties should be a religious minister.
The person must have shown a clear desire to be resident in the country and the
person has to fulfil the residential requirements needed to become a citizen.
The person should be capable of contributing to the wellbeing of Nigeria and its
citizens – for example, the individual is a taxpayer and an actual member of
society.
The governor of the state of the host community where the person applying for
citizenship wants to reside has to confirm the willingness of that community to
accept that individual into their fold.
The individual has been administered the oath of allegiance prescribed in Schedule
7 to the Constitution.
The person must have lived in Nigeria continuously for a period of 15 years
preceding the application date. A person who has lived continuously for a duration
of 12 months in Nigeria, then over the next 20 years lived in Nigeria
intermittently for periods totalling not less than 15 years can also apply if they
fulfil the other requirements.
Section 28 of the Constitution makes it clear that a person who intends to acquire
Nigerian citizenship by registration or by naturalisation must first renounce
citizenship of other countries they may have acquired previously, except
citizenship of a country acquired by birth. If a non-Nigerian wishes to be a
citizen of Nigeria by registration or naturalisation, they must not retain any
previous citizenships unless it was acquired by birth.
Conclusion
The Nigerian Constitution explicitly makes provisions for individuals that want to
obtain Nigerian citizenship to do so through a well-laid-out procedure. Acquiring
citizenship in Nigeria is less stressful than in other jurisdictions, where the
requirements are much stricter and individuals have to go through many rigorous
steps and invest a huge amount of money.
It should be noted, however, that the Nigerian Constitution forbids Nigerian
citizens by registration and naturalisation to hold citizenship of another country
other than their country of birth.
