Statelessness & Citizenship Review
2020
2(1)
transparency and efficiency of the process, 97 as we have argued in Part III. Below,
we will outline what an SDP for Nigeria could look like.
B
Proposed Structure and Location of SDP
When proposing a structure and location of SDP for Nigeria, it is important to
draw from practices in states with fairly good SDP in place. States that could guide
Nigeria in this regard are the UK and Brazil. In the UK, the competent authority
for determination of statelessness is the Home Office Department of Visas and
Immigration. The Home Office’s Department of Visa and Immigration is
responsible for considering applications for British citizenship from foreign
nationals as well as the determination of statelessness. 98 Similarly, in Brazil, the
National Secretariat of Justice of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security is
responsible for matters related to nationality, naturalisation, recognition of refugee
status, statelessness, residence permit. 99
In Nigeria, somewhat similarly, the Ministry of Interior (‘MOI’) is currently
responsible, amongst others, for granting Nigerian Citizenship and for
immigration services. The MOI has a department known as the Directorate of
Citizenship and Business, which is responsible inter alia for expatriate quota
administration and matters relating to the grant of Nigerian citizenship. 100 It also
has the responsibility for administering and enforcing the provisions of the
Immigration Act, evaluating applications for citizenship by naturalisation,
confirmation or registration, granting of Special Immigration Status, granting of a
Temporary Residence Permit, granting of Renunciation of Nigerian Citizenship
etc. 101 The Nigeria Immigration Service (‘NIS’) is a Department under the
Ministry of Interior, just like the Department of Visa and Immigration of the UK
Home Office.
Unlike the National Secretariat of Justice of Brazil and the UK Department of
Visas and Immigration both of which are responsible for both citizenship, asylum
and statelessness matters, 102 the competent agency for asylum matters in Nigeria
is the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced
Persons (‘NCFRMI’). 103 The NCFRMI, through its RSD, determines refugee
status in Nigeria, but it is not mandated to handle or grant Nigerian citizenship.
This is the preserve of the Ministry of Interior’s Directorate of Citizenship and
Business.
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
See Statelessness Determination Procedures (n 19) 5.
‘Apply for Citizenship If You’re Stateless’, GOV.UK
(Web Page)
<https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-stateless>.
‘Migrações’ [Migrations], Justica e Segurança Publica [Justice and Public Security] (Web
Page) <https://legado.justica.gov.br/seus-direitos/migracoes>. The National Secretariat of
Justice has a Department of Migration and the National Committee for
Refugees (‘CONARE’).
‘Citizenship
and
Business’,
Ministry
of
Interior
(Web
Page)
<https://interior.gov.ng/citizenship-and-business//>.
‘NIS Structure’, Nigeria Immigration Service (Web Page) <https://immigration.gov.ng/nisstructure/>;
‘About C&B Department’, Ministry of Interior (Web Page)
<https://www.ecitibiz.interior.gov.ng/home/about>.
In Brazil, the Department of Migration, which grants access to nationality, is separate from
CONARE, but they are both within the National Secretariat of Justice.
NCFRMI is under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, while the Citizenship and Business
Department that grants access to nationality in Nigeria is under the Ministry of Interior. See
‘The Commission’, National Commission For Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced
Persons (Web Page) <https://ncfrmi.gov.ng/the-commission/>.
103