Citizenship and a better understanding of citizenship may provide answers to the problems rooted in the concept of “indigeneship” and the causes of cyclical conflict. A person asserting citizenship by birth must prove: birth in Nigeria before the date of independence, i.e., 1 October 1960, and either parents or any grandparent belonging to a community indigenous to Nigeria and that such parents or grandparents were born in Nigeria; birth after the date of independence in Nigeria and either parent or any grandparent being citizens of Nigeria; birth outside Nigeria either before or after independence if either parent is a citizen of Nigeria. Section 25(a) does not allow persons to become a citizen of Nigeria if either parent or any grandparent were not born in Nigeria. Citizenship by birth cannot be taken away from the person asserting his citizenship by any authority in the country. A person may acquire citizenship by registration as per Section 26, if the person is of good character; shows a clear intention or desire to be domiciled in Nigeria; and takes a constitutional oath of allegiance. There are two categories for eligibility for citizenship under Section 26: persons of full age and capacity born outside Nigeria with any grandparent being a citizen of Nigeria or any woman who is or has been married to a citizen of Nigeria. It is at the discretion of the President of Nigeria to grant any application for registration. Citizenship by registration under Section 26 of the Constitution also requires animus manendi, the intention to remain, to acquire domicile. Domicile of origin is acquired at birth. Under Nigerian law, a child takes the domicile of the father at the time of birth. Domicile of origin coincides with citizenship by birth. Domicile of origin can never be lost until a domicile of choice has been acquired. Domicile of origin can be temporarily put into abeyance, when a person has elected or chosen a domicile of choice. In Shugaba Darman v Minister of Internal Affairs (1981), the minister presented a deportation order against the appellant under Section 18(3) of the Immigration Act of 1963, which empowered the minister to classify persons as “prohibited immigrant.” Section 12(e) of the act, however, did not authorize deportations of Nigerian citizens. The appellant accepted that his father was a Chadian but claimed that his mother was a Nigerian of the Kanuri tribe. Once this was proved, he could claim to be a Nigerian citizen. The court found the applicant a citizen of Nigeria entitled to fair hearing within the provision of Section 33 of the Constitution of 1979. At the time, the Nigerian president had set up a judicial tribunal to determine the applicant’s nationality. The court issued a perpetual injunction against the judicial tribunal to prevent it from sitting to determine the applicant’s citizenship – a matter so fundamental
117