The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has urged the Nigeria Immigration Service to immediately revoke and deactivate passports possessed by anyone who has formally renounced their Nigerian citizenship.
The directive, released on Saturday by his special adviser on media, Alao Babatunde, applies to Nigerians whose renunciation requests have been legally granted by the president.
Tunji-Ojo stated that the ministry, which is responsible for citizenship integrity, derives authority for the instruction from Sections 29(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The statement cited the constitutional provision as follows: (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, once a person loses citizenship, they are no longer eligible to carry any Nigerian sovereign document, including a passport.
He also described the action as being compatible with the ministry’s recent passport and visa modifications.
He stated that the current regulation was intended to close a loophole that permitted former nationals to continue traveling on Nigerian passports after their renunciation was formally accepted.
“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,” Tunji-Ojo said.
