Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has faulted UK Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, for what he calls “a shocking ignorance of Nigerian law.”
Falana reacted strongly to Badenoch’s claims in a CNN interview with Fareed Zakaria, where she said she couldn’t pass Nigerian citizenship to her children.
“I can’t give it to my children because I’m a woman,” Badenoch said on air. “It’s virtually impossible, for example, to get Nigerian citizenship.”
But Falana swiftly shut that down.
“Contrary to Kemi Badenoch’s misleading claim, her children are Nigerians because she is a Nigerian,” he said.
Citizenship Is Not Gender-Biased, Says Falana
Citing the 1999 Constitution, Falana pointed to Section 25 which grants automatic citizenship to any child born abroad to a Nigerian parent — regardless of gender.
“Every person born outside Nigeria either of whose parents is a citizen of Nigeria is a Nigerian citizen,” he said.
He also quoted Section 42(2) of the Constitution: “No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth, gender, political opinion or class.”
That means Badenoch’s children are Nigerians, he stressed, and can only renounce that status when they reach adulthood — as outlined under Section 29.
“The fact that the Tory leader may not want them to claim their Nigerian citizenship is totally irrelevant,” Falana stated.
‘Virtually Impossible’? Not True, Falana Counters
Badenoch had also claimed it’s “virtually impossible to get Nigerian citizenship” — an assertion Falana described as not just wrong, but misleading.
Sections 26 and 27 of the Constitution, he explained, clearly allow foreigners to obtain Nigerian citizenship through registration or naturalisation.
“A foreigner is qualified to acquire the citizenship of Nigeria upon the fulfilment of certain conditions,” he said.
However, Falana acknowledged there’s still work to be done. He flagged one outdated provision: while foreign women married to Nigerian men can be granted citizenship, the same doesn’t apply to foreign men married to Nigerian women.
“This is due to the patriarchal nature of the society,” he said.
Rate, Like 👍, Comment💬, share this article, Follow us on our social media handles, and Submit your own story to get featured and earn rewards!
WhatsApp Channel
Telegram Channel
