THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF STATE GOVERNMENTS DEPORTING SOME NIGERIANS FROM SOME STATES IN NIGERIA.

THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF STATE GOVERNMENTS DEPORTING SOME NIGERIANS FROM SOME STATES IN NIGERIA.

Section 25 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) reads:-

“25. (1) The following persons are citizens of Nigeria by birth-namely-

(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.

(2) In this section, "the date of independence" means the 1st day of October 1960.”

Section 28(1) of the said Constitution reads:

“28. (1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, a person shall forfeit forthwith his Nigerian citizenship if, not being a citizen of Nigeria by birth, he acquires or retains the citizenship or nationality of a country, other than Nigeria, of which he is not a citizen by birth.

(2) Any registration of a person as a citizen of Nigeria or the grant of a certificate of naturalisation to a person who is a citizen of a country other than Nigeria at the time of such registration or grant shall, if he is not a citizen by birth of that other country, be conditional upon effective renunciation of the citizenship or nationality of that other country within a period of not more than five months from the date of such registration or grant.”

Section 30 reads:

“30. (1) The President may deprive a person, other than a person who is a citizen of Nigeria by birth or by registration, of his citizenship, if he is satisfied that such a person has, within a period of seven years after becoming naturalised, been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than three years.

(2) The President shall deprive a person, other than a person who is citizen of Nigeria by birth, of his citizenship, if he is satisfied from the records of proceedings of a court of law or other tribunal or after due inquiry in accordance with regulations made by him, that

(a) the person has shown himself by act or speech to be disloyal towards the Federal Republic of Nigeria; or

(b) the person has, during any war in which Nigeria was engaged, unlawfully traded with the enemy or been engaged in or associated with any business that was in the opinion of the president carried on in such a manner as to assist the enemy of Nigeria in that war, or unlawfully communicated with such enemy to the detriment of or with intent to cause damage to the interest of Nigeria.”

Section 31 of the same Constitution reads:-

“31. For the purposes of this Chapter, 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; and in this section, "the date of independence" has the meaning assigned to it in section 25 (2) of this Constitution.”

Section 41(1) of the Constitution reads:-

 41. (1) Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereby or exit therefrom.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society-

(a) imposing restrictions on the residence or movement of any person who has committed or is reasonably suspected to have committed a criminal offence in order to prevent him from leaving Nigeria; or

(b) providing for the removal of any person from Nigeria to any other country to:-

(i) be tried outside Nigeria for any criminal offence, or

(ii) undergo imprisonment outside Nigeria in execution of the sentence of a court of law in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty:

Provided that there is reciprocal agreement between Nigeria and such other country in relation to such matter.”

From the few Constitutional provisions I have referred to, what is Fashola’s own quo warrants to have deported some Nigerians from Lagos State? Fashola is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and for that reason, I do not expect him to have followed the wrong footsteps of some other Governors who have done so in the past.

I do not want others to follow the unreasonable outburst of people like Femi Fani-Kayode, Asari Dokubo, Tompolo and some others who bother more about their pockets than the peace which Nigeria needs most now.

The real problems of terrorism in the North, kidnapping in the South, crude oil theft, armed robbery, corruption, hunger in the face of plenty, poor educational institutions, poor health care systems are the only things we must concentrate on praying to tackle now. Whoever thinks of creating other mundane problems for Nigeria today must know that he will die one day to face the Wrath of AMIGHTY GOD.

                                                YUNUS USTAZ USMAN, (SAN)

                                                           (Ezienyi Ndi Igbo 1)