of the different units and sub-units that made up Nigeria’s federal system.104 Hence, a “certificate of indigeneity”, issued by the chair of a person’s local government area “of origin” – determined as the father’s community of origin – is required for many purposes, including applications for civil service positions, government scholarships, election to public office and many other official interactions. A certificate of indigeneity is also required to obtain a passport.105 An entire infrastructure of personnel and form-filling exists to supply such certificates from each of the 36 states of the federation and 774 local government areas (and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja). Since no law establishes another document to do so, the proof of your right to be Nigerian is effectively a certificate of indigeneity, a document that has no legal basis, and for which there are no established written criteria on the basis of which a refusal could be challenged. For those who have lived in urban areas for several generations, ties to communities of origin inevitably become weaker (or several could be claimed). A certificate of indigeneity is usually available only to those whose father is an indigene, and not to children of a “mixed” marriage, if only the mother is from that place; though in other cases, criteria may be more flexible, based on residency and assimilation. Since there is no legal framework, the process is effectively at the discretion of the local government chair. In practice, such certificates can be obtained with money and connections, but it is hard to recommend such a workaround as a matter of public policy.106 These problems are replicated somewhat in Togo, which is the only francophone country where a certificate of nationality issued by the ministry of justice rather than a court.107 Even without the requirement for a legal procedure, a study by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights estimated that only around 75,000 certificates were issued each year nationwide. Moreover, whereas an unproblematic request for a certificate of nationality will be fulfilled within about two months, in any case where there is a query it may take further months or even years to resolve. The law provides that if the Ministry of Justice does not supply a certificate of nationality within two months of the date of request, it is presumed that the certificate has been refused – and it is not clear if there is any appeal from this outcome.108 In practice a certificate of nationality is refused when there is any doubt about a late birth registration established by a jugement supplétif from a tribunal, so that the administrative authorities thus question the decision of the courts. In such cases of doubt it is the practice is to demand a “certificat d’origine” which is awarded on the basis of an enquiry carried out in the district where the person is from; but no legal authority exists for this practice. Efforts to computerise and strengthen administration of nationality certificates has already created problems for those without papers who are not able to meet new standards of proof.109 104 See Human Rights Watch, “They Do Not Own This Place”: Government discrimination against “non-indigenes” in Nigeria, April 2006; Bronwen Manby, Struggles for Citizenship in Africa, pp.110-112. 105 Interview, Nigerian Immigration Service, Abuja, July 2014. 106 For a report on recent research on the criteria for certificates of indigeneity, see, “Indigeneity, Belonging, & Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Citizens’ Views from the Street”, Nigeria Research Network, Policy Brief No.5, University of Oxford / Development Research and Project Centre Kano, 2014. 107 Rapport de la Commission ad hoc chargée de réviser les textes relatifs à la nationalité et de définir les modalités pratiques des audiences foraines d’établissement de certificats d’origine et de nationalité, Lomé, 1216 septembre 2011. 108 Ordonnance No.78-34 du 7 septembre 1978 portant Code de la nationalité togolaise, art 72. 109 Le droit à une nationalité: l’accès aux documents d’identité au Togo, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, March 2013. 37