Nigerian nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Nigeria, as amended, and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Nigeria. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual to the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual within the nation. Commonwealth countries often use the terms nationality and citizenship as synonyms, despite their legal distinction and the fact that they are regulated by different governmental administrative bodies. Nigerian nationality is typically obtained under the principal of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth to parents with Nigerian nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation.
As Commonwealth citizens, Nigerians are eligible to vote in UK elections and serve in public office there.
Acquiring Nigerian nationality Nationality can be obtained in Nigeria at birth or later in life through naturalisation.
By birth Typically, in Nigeria, there are no provisions to acquire nationality through jus soli, i.e. by birth in the territory, which means that foundlings or orphans whose parents are unknown are stateless. Those who are eligible for nationality by birth include:
Persons born anywhere whose parents are Nigerian nationals; or Persons born in Nigeria who have at least one grandparent who was Nigerian, or belonged to an indigenous community of Nigeria prior to independence.
By naturalisation Naturalisation can be granted to persons who have resided in Nigeria for a sufficient period of time to confirm they understand the customs and traditions of the country and the responsibilities of citizenship. Applications are submitted to the Ministry of the Interior, who in turn forwards the paperwork to various state agencies like the Immigration Service, State Security Service, as well as the state governor, chair of the local governing body, and the police. If it is accepted, the application is then sent to the Federal Executive Council for a recommendation. The final decision on the application comes from the President of Nigeria. General qualifications are that applicants have good character and be able to contribute to the progress of the nation. Nigerian statutes have no provisions for adopted children to acquire nationality. Applicants must verify legal residency of a minimum of fifteen years. Besides foreigners meeting the criteria, the wife of a Nigerian national who meets the other criteria for naturalisation can register without a residency period.
Loss of nationality Nigerians are allowed to renounce their nationality, provided that comply with registration processes. The government may oppose during times of war. Nationals of origin cannot be deprived of their nationality. Naturalised persons can be denaturalised for working for another nation without governmental consent, or for committing serious crimes, disloyal acts, or crimes against the state or state security.
Dual nationality Nigeria allows dual nationality for most persons, but does not allow persons who have been naturalised in another country to naturalise as a Nigerian. Nationals of origin in Nigeria or another country are allowed to naturalise without renouncing other nationality. Members of the government — like the president, governor, or state and national legislators — are allowed to have dual nationality only if they acquired Nigerian citizenship by birth and have held this continuously.
History African people and European contact (1000–1861) In the northern part of the area now known as Nigeria many ethnic groups resided, some of whom developed centralised governments. Among them were the Hausa, Idoma, Igala, Igbira, Jukun, Kanuri, Nupe, and Tiv peoples. The southern part of what is now Nigeria was dominated by the Edo, Igbo, and Yoruba peoples. The Kanem–Bornu Empire of the Kanuri arose in the eighth century and at its peak controlled territory extending across the modern nations of Chad, Nigeria and Libya. By the eleventh century, seven non-aligned Hausa Kingdoms had also been founded in the north. Hausa rulers lived in walled-cities and required inhabitants to pay taxes in exchange for protection from invaders. In the south, the Benin Empire of the Edo and the Oyo Empire of the Yoruba developed around the same time as the Hausa Kingdoms. The various communities were involved in the Trans-Saharan trade system, which was linked to the Muslim world through Arab and Berber traders.
In 1472, Portuguese traders visited the Benin Empire and Lagos and within a decade had established trade. Missionaries were sent to the Empire in 1515 and from 1482, Portuguese merchants began establishing trading posts around Lagos and on the banks of the Benin River. The Portuguese were followed by other Europeans interested in commercial ventures, like the British, Spaniards, Dutch, and French. All became engaged in the Transatlantic Slave Trade, purchasing slaves from the indigenous people. Most trade focused on the coasts. European involvement in coastal Africa led to increasing interest in the last half of the eighteenth century to explore the interiors of Africa. In 1807, Britain abolished the slave trade and became interested in developing other commodities that could be traded, as well as preventing other nations from continuing to trade in slaves. In 1822, Scottish explorer, Hugh Clapperton, set out on a four-year mission to explore the area. He encountered the Hausa people and reported on their trade networks.
In 1830, the course of the Lower Niger was traced. Anglican missionaries arrived in the area in 1841, Methodist missionaries began establishing missions around Badagry in 1842, and these were soon followed by Baptist missions. In 1849, Heinrich Barth, a German explorer from Hamburg, as part of an official British expedition led by James Richardson was sent to the region to explore the possibilities for trade. Barth trekked through the Kanem–Bornu Empire and reported that wars between the Bornu and Sokoto Empires had reduced the area into anarchy. He explored along the Middle Niger through 1855, reporting intact trade networks, but noted that internal strife and external attacks made the political structures vulnerable. As he made his way along the Upper Niger to Timbuktu, Barth noted that commerce networks were intact, but there was political unrest and uncertainty due largely to the aftermath of the Fula jihads. Britain purchased the Danish trading forts in West Africa in 1850 and the following year, established a diplomatic outpost at Lagos.
Throughout the 1850s, there was increasing competition between the British, French, and German nations to control West Africa. By 1857 Britain claimed to control the entire Gambia River, which implied the government's responsibility to protect the inhabitants of the region. In 1859, the British government clarified its position that foreign traders living in their colonies were afforded the same protections as British subjects, even when trading outside of its area of territorial control. Along the Niger, British policy was changing as well, from the idea of an informal empire toward colonial administration. In an attempt to provide a framework to develop and protect British trade, the British became involved in a dispute over succession in the Lagos royal family and similarly to check French influence and expansion from Dahomey, discussions began regarding establishment of a protectorate over Lagos. From 1860, war among the Yoruba states began impacting the growth of commerce from Lagos, prompting deeper consideration of establishing colonial control.
British period (1861–1960) Britain annexed Lagos as the Lagos Colony in 1861 and over the next few years negotiated land cessions for Badagry, Lekki and Palma, in the Borno region to extend their control over most of the lagoons in the surrounding area. These actions heightened tensions with the French, particularly in the northern region. In 1864, the British founded a settlement at Lokoja with the intent of establishing commerce, but it failed in 1869. The loss of the trading center did not diminish interest in the area, and four trading firms – the West African Company, Central African Company, Williams Brothers, and James Pinnock were operating along the Niger by 1878. The following year, these were joined into the United African Company, which later became the National African Company. Continued expansion and signing of protection treaties with local leaders established British dominance by 1882 in Nigeria. In 1884 the Oil River Protectorate was established. Continuing conflicts during the 'Scramble for Africa', culminated in the 1884–1885 Berlin Conference in which the colonial powers designated portions of Africa into European spheres of influence. At the conference, Britain's claims of a de facto monopoly over the trade along the Niger, effectively allowed it to gain control over northern Nigeria.
Reluctant to bear the cost of administrating the territory, in 1886, the government reauthorised the National African Company, now called the Royal Niger Company, to manage the territory in exchange for a trade monopoly. In 1893 the Oil River Protectorate was renamed as the Niger Coast Protectorate. The Royal Niger Company charter was revoked in 1900 and the territories which it had administrated were combined to form the Northern Nigeria Protectorate. Territories to the south of this protectorate, including the Niger Coast Protectorate, were consolidated at the same time and named the Southern Nigeria Protectorate. In 1906, the Lagos Colony and the Southern Protectorate were combined into a single administrative unit and in 1914, the Northern protectorate was incorporated as well. The new name for Colonial Nigeria became the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria at that time.
In Britain, allegiance, in which subjects pledged to support a monarch, was the precursor to the modern concept of nationality. The crown recognized from 1350 that all persons born within the territories of the British Empire were subjects. Those born outside the realm — except children of those serving in an official post abroad, children of the monarch, and children born on a British ship — were considered by common law to be foreigners. Marriage did not affect the status of a subject of the realm, but under common law, single women, including divorcées, were not allowed to be parents thus their children could not derive nationality maternally and were stateless unless legitimated by their father. British Nationality Acts did not extend beyond the bounds of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, meaning that under Britain's rules of conquest, laws in place at the time of acquisition remained in place until changed. Other than common law, there was no standard statutory law which applied for subjects throughout the realm, meaning different jurisdictions created their own legislation for local conditions, which often conflicted with the laws in other jurisdictions in the empire. Thus, a person who was naturalised in Canada, for example, would be considered a foreigner, rather than a British national, in Australia or South Africa. In Nigeria, those who inhabited Lagos, were considered British subjects, while those who lived in the protectorates were granted the status of British Protected Persons (BPP).
Persons in the Nigeria Colony and British-born subjects living in the Protectorate of Nigeria (1914–1960)