In Nigeria, perhaps 100-200 people are naturalised each year – in a country of around 170 million -but UNHCR only knows of a single refugee or former refugee (a Rwandan) who has been included among that number.117 This is partly a matter of law but even more a matter of practice: the procedures tend to be heavy in bureaucratic requirements, and slow in terms of processing. The system for application is similar in the civil law countries: an application for naturalisation is submitted at the mairie of the commune, requiring a dossier with the birth certificate or proof of nationality from the country of origin, proof of marriage (if relevant), the birth certificates of any children included in the application, a certificate of residence, proof of a clean criminal record (casier judiciaire), and a letter of motivation. The mayor sends the application to the Direction d’administration du territoire for an inquiry into the morality of the person; and the dossier is then sent the Ministry of Justice to be verified, before it is sent on to the presidency for consideration. The final naturalisation is by décret, secondary legislation adopted by the president. In Nigeria, where naturalisation requires fifteen years’ residence and fulfilment of numerous other conditions,118 an application for naturalisation is made to the Ministry of the Interior, and the dossier is then reviewed by a range of different state agencies, including the State Security Service, the Immigration Service, the police, the governor of the state and chair of the local government area where the person is resident, and other agencies. Ultimately, the dossier is passed to the Federal Executive Council for review and recommendation and the final decision is made by the president. A fairly substantial percentage of those who apply are rejected (perhaps 15-20 percent, judging from press reports). In Nigeria, naturalisation is also not automatic for minor children of those whose applications are successful: in one case, the child of parents of Palestinian origin who had Côte d’Ivoire Ministry of Justice, June 2015. Interview, Paul Koreki, Technical adviser, Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Civil Liberties, Abidjan, June 2014, and subsequent email correspondence. 117 Official figures are not published, but news stories indicate that numbers naturalised are of this order. See, for example, Emeka Anuforo, “79 foreigners get Nigerian citizenship”, The Guardian, 31 January 2007; “FEC okays 119 for Nigerian citizenship”, The Nation, 5 June 2008; “FG confers citizenship on 82 nationals”, NAN, 18 August 2010; Ahamefula Ogbu, “FG Uncovers 1,497 Illegal Migration Routes into Nigeria”, This Day, 15 March 2012; Elizabeth Embu, “FG Grants Citizenship to 174 Foreigners, Denies 27 applicants”, Daily Times, 6 November 2013; Jibrin Lumba, “As Nigerians Relocate, Foreigners Struggle For Nigerian Citizenship”, Orient Daily, 26 December 2013. Included in the numbers referred to are women married to Nigerian citizens who have applied to register as Nigerians, a far less demanding process under section 26 of the constitution. Also interview, UNHCR Abuja, July 2014. 118 Section 27 of the 1999 Constitution provides that: “(1) Subject to the provisions of section 28 of this Constitution [requiring renunciation of any other nationality also held by naturalisation], any person who is qualified in accordance with the provisions of this section may apply to the President for the grant 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.” 39