Report on Citizenship Law: Nigeria Nigeria for processing;30 all applications on behalf of registered or naturalised citizens, and in case of adoption, are also processed by Immigration Headquarters.31 4.2 The Ministry of the Interior Citizenship and Business Department, the Federal Executive Council and the Presidency The 1999 Constitution gives the president the final authority to approve applications for naturalisation, registration or renunciation of citizenship. These are initially processed by the Citizenship & Business Department of the Ministry of the Interior,32 and they are then approved by the Federal Executive Council, before the application is finally granted by the president. In addition, the Citizenship and Business Department has a procedure for ‘confirmation’ of citizenship, discussed further below (section 5.3). 4.3 The National Identity Management Commission In July 2014 the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) approved the introduction by 2017 of a new standard-format national biometric identity card in all ECOWAS states.33 These national identity cards are now sufficient for travel within the ECOWAS states, replacing the previous ECOWAS travel certificate. Nigeria introduced a national identity card for the first time, in line with this commitment.34 The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act was enacted in 2007, and established the requirement for all adult residents of Nigeria to carry an identity card, although it was not implemented for some years. The NIMC began issuing its first ID cards in 2014, with the intention that all citizens and lawful residents of Nigeria over 16 years in age would carry one by 2019. The aim is to create a comprehensive identity system, harmonising the different existing registries, and discussions are underway to integrate the national identity card with other databases.35 The identity cards issued include encoded biometric data and show on their face an identification number, date of birth and gender, and an indication of ‘whether or not the person is a citizen of Nigeria’, with reference to the constitutional provisions.36 The NIMC Act does not specify what information must be provided to the Commission for a card to be issued that confirms citizenship, but requires an applicant to ‘provide any particulars specified … by the Commission’.37 The NIMC website states that ‘any’ (not ‘all’) of the following supporting documents should be produced for an application: ‘1. Old National ID Card; 2. Driver’s License; 3. Voter’s card (Temporary or Permanent); 4. Nigerian International passport; 5. Certificate of origin; 6. Attestation letter from a prominent ruler in 30 Immigration Regulations, section 39(b). Immigration Regulations, section 40. 32 Ministry of Interior Department of Citizenship and Business eCitiBiz website. Accessed 31/03/2020 via https://www.ecitibiz.interior.gov.ng/home/about and https://interior.gov.ng/citizenship-and-business/. 33 Final Communique: Forty-Fifth Ordinary Session of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, Accra, Ghana, 10 July 2014. 34 Although a 1979 presidential decree proposed the issue of identity cards to all Nigerians over 18 (National Civic Registration Decree No.51 of 1979), this law was never implemented. 35 National Identity Management Commission Act No.23 of 2007, sections 5 and 15; Identification Systems Analysis Country Assessment: Nigeria, World Bank, June 2015; . 36 National Identity Management Commission Act No.23 of 2007, sections 17, 18, 19, 33, and second schedule. 37 Ibid., section 18. 31 12 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/12- © 2020 Author(s)