The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has instructed the Nigeria Immigration Service to promptly withdraw and deactivate passports held by individuals who have officially renounced their Nigerian citizenship.
The directive, contained in a statement released on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Media, Alao Babatunde, applies to Nigerians whose renunciation applications have been formally approved by the President.
Tunji-Ojo said the ministry, charged with the duty of safeguarding citizenship integrity, draws its authority for the order from Section 29(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, as amended.
The statement quoted the constitutional provision as stating: “(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 statement, the minister explained that once an individual ceases to be a citizen, they are no longer entitled to possess any sovereign document of Nigeria, including a passport.
He also described the decision as aligning with the ongoing passport and visa reforms carried out by the ministry in recent years.
He noted that the latest directive seeks to close a loophole that enabled former citizens to keep travelling with Nigerian passports even after their renunciation had been formally acknowledged.
“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 unauthorised or ineligible access,” Tunji-Ojo said.
