Citizenship Integrity: Nigeria withdraws, deactivates passports of citizens who renounced nationality

*Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister for Interior, directs the Nigeria Immigration Service to immediately withdraw and deactivate passports of affected Nigerians, who still hold the sovereign documents, assuring the government will continue to secure borders, prevent identity fraud, preserve the sanctity of Nigerian citizenship, and facilitate legitimate travel while preventing unauthoried or ineligible access

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

In a decisive move to maintain the country’s citizenship integrity, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Honourable Minister for Interior, has directed the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to immediately withdraw and deactivate passports of Nigerians, who have renounced their citizenship, but still bear the vital documents.

Alao Babatunde, Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, who disclosed this development in a statement Friday, April 10, 2026, however, clarified that the directive applied to only Nigerians whose requests for renunciation of their nationality have been formally approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

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Dr. Tunji-Ojo stressed that the Ministry of Interior is saddled with the responsibility of citizenship integrity, as it derives the power from the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of Section 29 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

According to him, the relevant provisions state “(1) Any citizen of Nigeria of full age who wishes to renounce his Nigerian citizenship shall make a declaration in the prescribed manner for the renunciation, and (2) The President shall cause the declaration made under subsection (1) of this section to be registered and upon such registration, the person who made the declaration shall cease to be a citizen of Nigeria.”

The Minister stated that once a person ceases to be a citizen of Nigeria, he of she can no longer carry any sovereign document of Nigeria, including the West African country’s passport.

He equally explained the measure is consistent with the passport and visa reforms that his Ministry has undertaken within the past few years of the current administration.

Tunji-Ojo further said: “We will continue to strengthen systems that secure Nigeria’s borders, prevent identity fraud, preserve the sanctity of Nigerian citizenship, and facilitate legitimate travel while preventing unauthorised or ineligible access.”