obtained Nigerian nationality by naturalisation was unable to obtain a Nigerian passport herself on reaching majority; a separate application had then to be made.119 In Niger, problems are created in this process particularly by the requirements that a person requesting naturalisation on the basis of ten years’ residence has to provide both a certificate of nationality from the country of origin (though they are not required to renounce that nationality), and residence permits showing legal residence for ten years. However, among those requesting naturalisation are people born and brought up in the country of parents born elsewhere (who are not eligible for nationality of origin in Niger). These people have never considered obtaining a residence permit (permis de séjour), and it seems absurd to require them to obtain proof of nationality of one or other or both of their parents’ countries (for which they would have to travel to that country in order to collect all the documentation and go through onerous administrative processes) in order to obtain recognition of the nationality of the country where they have always lived. Even for people who grew up in another ECOWAS country and do have evidence of nationality of that country, providing a residence permit is usually an impossible demand for those who are not operating in the formal economy and for whom West Africa is perceived as a zone of free movement.120 In Sierra Leone, after filling out the necessary forms, the applicant is required to undergo a series of interviews at the Immigration Headquarters, the Criminal Investigation Department, and the National Revenue Authority. Final interviews are before a panel chaired by the minister of foreign affairs, and including the attorney general and minister of justice, the minister of trade, and the head of immigration. This committee forwards its recommendation to the cabinet for approval and the president has the final say.121 There is no requirement to give any reason for the refusal of an application for naturalisation, and the decision cannot be challenged in any court.122 There was a total of only about 115 naturalised citizens in Sierra Leone in 2005, almost all of Lebanese descent.123 No naturalisations were carried out under the Sierra Leone Peoples’ Party government in office between 1996 and 2007, although it was alleged by the current All People's Congress government that the previous government of the military National Provisional Ruling Council had carried out “mass naturalisation”, especially of Chinese and Korean nationals.124 In 2006, procedures for naturalisation were simplified; however, according to the US Department of State 2010 human rights report, the government had approved no new naturalisations since the end of the war in 2002; moreover, a 119 Interview, Nigerian National Immigration Service, Abuja, July 2014. Interview, Abdou Hamani, Ministry of Justice, Niamey, May 2014. Thanks to a bilateral agreement, a permis de séjour is not required for nationals of Mali. 121 Bronwen Manby, Struggles for Citizenship in Africa, London: Zed Books, 2009, pp.56-66; see also Lina Beydoun “Lebanese migration to Sierra Leone: Issues of transnationalism, gender, citizenship, and the construction of a globalized identity”, unpublished PhD thesis, Wayne State University, 2005. 122 Sierra Leone Citizenship Act, 1973, section 24. 123 According to the Immigration Department in Sierra Leone, cited in Jamesina King, Africa Discrimination and Citizenship Audit: Report on Sierra Leone, Open Society Justice Initiative, 2005. 124 “Immigration unveils Naturalization and Citizenship Application Forms”, Awoko, 4 May 2011. 120 40