25. (1) The following
persons are citizens of Nigeria by birth-namely-
(a) every person born
in Nigeria before the date of independence, either of whose
parents or any of whose grandparents belongs or belonged to
a community indigenous to Nigeria;
Provided that a person shall not become a citizen of Nigeria
by virtue of this section if neither of his parents nor any
of his grandparents was born in Nigeria.
(b) every person born
in Nigeria after the date of independence either of whose
parents or any of whose grandparents is a citizen of
Nigeria; and
(c) every person born
outside Nigeria either of whose parents is a citizen of
Nigeria.
(2) In this section, "the
date of independence" means the 1st day of October 1960.
26. (1) Subject to the
provisions of section 28 of this Constitution, a person to whom
the provisions of this section apply may be registered as a
citizen of Nigeria, if the President is satisfied that -
(a) he is a person of
good character;
(b) he has shown a
clear intention of his desire to be domiciled in Nigeria;
and
(c) he has taken the
Oath of Allegiance prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to
this Constitution.
(2) the provisions of this
section shall apply to-
(a) any woman who is
or has been married to a citizen of Nigeria; or
(b) every person of
full age and capacity born outside Nigeria any of whose
grandparents is a citizen of Nigeria.
27. (1) Subject to the
provisions of section 28 of this Constitution, any person who is
qualified in accordance with the provisions of this section may
apply to the President for the same of a certificate of
naturalisation.
(2) No person shall be
qualified to apply for the grant of a certificate or
naturalisation, unless he satisfies the President that -
(a) he is a person of
full age and capacity;
(b) he is a person of
good character;
(c) he has shown a
clear intention of his desire to be domiciled in Nigeria;
(d) he is, in the
opinion of the Governor of the State where he is or he
proposes to be resident, acceptable to the local community
in which he is to live permanently, and has been assimilated
into the way of life of Nigerians in that part of the
Federation;
(e) he is a person who
has made or is capable of making useful contribution to the
advancement; progress and well-being of Nigeria;
(f) he has taken the
Oath of Allegiance prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to
this Constitution; and
(g) he has,
immediately preceding the date of his application, either-
(i) resided in
Nigeria for a continuous period of fifteen years; or
(ii) resided in
Nigeria continuously for a period of twelve months, and
during the period of twenty years immediately preceding
that period of twelve months has resided in Nigeria for
periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than
fifteen years.
28. (1) Subject to the other
provisions of this section, a person shall forfeit forthwith his
Nigerian citizenship if, not being a citizen of Nigeria by birth,
he acquires or retains the citizenship or nationality of a
country, other than Nigeria, of which he is not a citizen by
birth.
(2) Any registration of a
person as a citizen of Nigeria or the grant of a certificate of
naturalisation to a person who is a citizen of a country other
than Nigeria at the time of such registration or grant shall, if
he is not a citizen by birth of that other country, be
conditional upon effective renunciation of the citizenship or
nationality of that other country within a period of not more
than five months from the date of such registration or grant.
29. (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.
(3) The President may
withhold the registration of any declaration made under
subsection (1) of this section if-
(a) the declaration is
made during any war in which Nigeria is physically involved;
or
(b) in his opinion, it
is otherwise contrary to public policy.
(4) For the purposes of
subsection (1) of this section.
(a) "full age" means
the age of eighteen years and above;
(b) any woman who is
married shall be deemed to be of full age.
30. (1) The President may
deprive a person, other than a person who is a citizen of Nigeria
by birth or by registration, of his citizenship, if he is
satisfied that such a person has, within a period of seven years
after becoming naturalised, been sentenced to imprisonment for a
term of not less than three years.
(2) The President shall
deprive a person, other than a person who is citizen of Nigeria
by birth, of his citizenship, if he is satisfied from the
records of proceedings of a court of law or other tribunal or
after due inquiry in accordance with regulations made by him,
that -
(a) the person has
shown himself by act or speech to be disloyal towards the
Federal Republic of Nigeria; or
(b) the person has,
during any war in which Nigeria was engaged, unlawfully
traded with the enemy or been engaged in or associated with
any business that was in the opinion of the president
carried on in such a manner as to assist the enemy of
Nigeria in that war, or unlawfully communicated with such
enemy to the detriment of or with intent to cause damage to
the interest of Nigeria.
31. For the purposes of this Chapter, a parent or grandparent of a
person shall be deemed to be a citizen of Nigeria if at the time
of the birth of that person such parent or grandparent would have
possessed that status by birth if he had been alive on the date of
independence; and in this section, "the date of independence" has
the meaning assigned to it in section 25 (2) of this Constitution.
32.
(1) The president may make
regulations, not inconsistent with this Chapter, prescribing all
matters which are required or permitted to be prescribed or which
are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or
giving effect to the provisions of this Chapter, and for granting
special immigrant status with full residential rights to
non-Nigerian spouses of citizens of Nigeria who do not wish to
acquire Nigerian citizenship.
(2) Any regulations made
by the president pursuant to the provisions of this section
shall be laid before the National Assembly.
