The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has announced its plan to withdraw and deactivate passports from citizens who formally renounced their citizenship.
This was disclosed on Saturday in a directive issued by the minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and issued by his special adviser on media, Alao Babatunde.
The minister cited provisions of the 1999 constitution, saying, “(1) Any citizen of Nigeria of full age who wishes to renounce his Nigerian citizenship shall make a declaration in the prescribed manner for the renunciation.
“(2) The President shall cause the declaration made under subsection (1) of this section to be registered, and upon such registration, the person who made the declaration shall cease to be a citizen of Nigeria.”
According to the minister, once a person renounces their citizenship, they can no longer possess any sovereign document of Nigeria, including an international passport.
The minister also stated that the development is in line with passport and visa reforms implemented by the Ministry over the past few years.
Tunji-Ojo noted, “We will continue to strengthen systems that secure Nigeria’s borders, prevent identity fraud, preserve the sanctity of Nigerian citizenship, and facilitate legitimate travel while preventing unauthorized or ineligible access.”