The Minister of Inside, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has directed the Nigeria Immigration Service to withdraw and deactivate passports belonging to Nigerians who’ve formally renounced their citizenship.
The directive, issued by the Ministry of Inside, applies to people whose renunciation of Nigerian citizenship has been formally accepted by the President, in keeping with constitutional provisions governing nationality.
In accordance with the assertion, “The Honourable Minister of Inside, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has directed the Nigeria Immigration Service to right away withdraw and deactivate passports of Nigerians who’ve renounced their citizenship however nonetheless retain the paperwork.”
It additional clarified that, “This directive applies strictly to people whose renunciation requests have been formally accepted by the President.”
The Minister defined that the choice is backed by the provisions of Part 29 of the 1999 Structure (as amended), which outlines the authorized course of for renouncing Nigerian citizenship.
“(1) Any citizen of Nigeria of full age who needs to resign his Nigerian citizenship shall make a declaration within the prescribed method for the renunciation.
(2) The President shall trigger the declaration made below subsection (1) of this part to be registered and upon such registration, the one who made the declaration shall stop to be a citizen of Nigeria.”
He additional famous that people who’ve ceased to be residents are not entitled to carry Nigerian sovereign paperwork, together with passports.
The assertion added that the directive aligns with ongoing reforms inside the Ministry geared toward strengthening id administration and safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s citizenship system.
“We’ll proceed to strengthen techniques that safe Nigeria’s borders, forestall id fraud, protect the sanctity of Nigerian citizenship, and facilitate professional journey whereas stopping unauthorized or ineligible entry.”
The assertion was issued on April 10, 2026, by the Minister’s Particular Adviser on Media, Alao Babatunde.
Ademide Adebayo
Times Nigeria