The Federal Government of Nigeria has officially ordered the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to immediately deactivate and withdraw the passports of people who have formally renounced Nigerian citizenship. The phrase "formally renounced citizenship" has meanings beyond how it sounds in this situation.
Formally renouncing Nigerian citizenship is a legal process defined by Nigeria’s constitution in Section 29 of the 1999 constitution (as amended). To formally renounce, a person must submit an official letter of renunciation to the Ministry of the Interior or a Nigerian embassy. This letter will be officially reviewed by the president of Nigeria, who must register and approve it.
The letter is officially called "Form G", and it must be submitted with a birth certificate, passport, and sworn oath from court. However, before the letter is registered and approved, you must also provide proof of eligibility for citizenship in another country, pay a processing fee of N20,000, and pay an additional N50,000 upon approval.
Therefore, the renunciation is not valid automatically. Once the renunciation letter is approved, you will no longer be a Nigerian citizen, and your name will be recorded as someone who has renounced citizenship.
The announcement of the government's directive was made by the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and according to him, the directive applies to Nigerians whose renunciation requests have been formally approved by President Bola Tinubu. The minister made it clear that “once a person ceases to be a citizen, they can no longer hold sovereign documents like the Nigerian passport.”
Minister Olubumi said the government is mandating the directive as part of its push aimed at strengthening border security and preventing identity-related fraud. In line with this goal, the NIS has also upgraded the country’s passport tracking system.
The upgrade, made in response to public frustration over delays in processing and collecting passports, now enhances system transparency, expedites service delivery, and rectifies long-standing inefficiencies in application handling.
You can now check the exact stage your passport is in; whether it's in processing, printing, or ready for pickup. This will safe you the unnecessary trips to immigration offices. You'll also get alerts, either via SMS or email, when your passport status changes. You'll also be able to See your application history and details clearly.
Overall, both the cancellation of passports for citizens who renounce nationality and the upgrade of the country’s passport tracking system are the purpose of modernising immigration operations and strengthening control and security oversight in the country.
