Bronwen Manby and Solomon Momoh 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. Section 31 states that ‘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’ (that is, if born in the country of a parent or grandparent also born there). As in 1979, Section 309 of the 1999 Constitution states that those who were already citizens under earlier constitutions remain citizens of Nigeria. The legal history of the basis of attribution of citizenship at birth (see table at heading 2.6) thus remains relevant in deciding if someone is a Nigerian citizen, especially in relation to Section 25(1)(b) and (c). Both the 1979 and 1999 constitutions delegated authority to the president to make regulations, while also including citizenship within the exclusive legislative list for the National Assembly.13 No legislation has been enacted or regulations promulgated, enabling a high degree of executive discretion in implementing the constitutional framework. 3.1.1 No provision for foundlings, otherwise stateless, or adopted children The constitutional provisions do not include the presumption that a child found in Nigeria of unknown parents should be presumed to have been born in Nigeria of parents with Nigerian citizenship. The constitution also does not establish that a child born in Nigeria who does not acquire the nationality of one of his or her parents should have the right to Nigerian citizenship. These protections are required by articles 1 and 2 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and by article 6 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, to both of which Nigeria is a party.14 Finally, the constitution contains no protection for foreign or stateless children adopted by Nigerian citizens, to ensure that they can acquire the citizenship of their adoptive parents. The Child Rights Act of 2003 does not explicitly remedy this omission, although it does provide in general terms for an adopted child to be treated as a biological child in relation to legal rights and obligations.15 3.1.2 Lack of definition of ‘community indigenous to Nigeria’ Neither the 1979 nor the 1999 Constitution provide any definition for the phrase ‘community indigenous to Nigeria’, leaving uncertain the interpretation of this controversial clause. 13 Constitution, 1999, Section 32; and Section 4 with schedule 2. For more detail on gaps in the constitutional provisions, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and UNHCR, ‘Discrepancies between the International Legal Obligations and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria relating to the Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness’, Submission to the Upper House of the National Assembly, 29 June 2012. 15 Child Rights Act, No.26 of 2003, section 141. 14 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/12 - © 2020 Author(s) 7