Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has faulted the claims made by British Conservative minister, Kemi Badenoch, over Nigerian citizenship laws, describing her statement as a “display of ignorance of the provisions of the Constitution of her country of origin.”
Badenoch, in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, had claimed that “as a woman, you can’t pass on your nationality unless your husband is Nigerian” and that “Nigerian citizenship is virtually impossible unless you are a Nigerian or you’ve done something for Nigeria.”
Reacting on Monday, July 21, 2025, Falana firmly stated that her children are indeed Nigerians by birth and entitled to dual citizenship under Nigerian law. According to him, “With respect, the statement credited to the British minister is a display of ignorance of the provisions of the Constitution of her country of origin. Contrary to her claim, the children of Ms Kemi Badenoch are entitled to Nigerian citizenship either by birth or by registration.”
He explained that, “By virtue of section 25 (1) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, a person born outside Nigeria after the date of independence either of whose parents is a citizen of Nigeria is a citizen of Nigeria by birth.” Falana added that since Badenoch was born in the UK to Nigerian parents, she is a Nigerian citizen by birth and that her children also have a legal claim to citizenship.
Falana also quoted section 26 (2) of the Constitution, which states, “a person of full age and capacity born outside Nigeria any of whose grandparents is a citizen of Nigeria may apply to the President for the registration of citizenship.” He said this makes her children eligible, even if born abroad, through either of the two routes.
Responding to her claim that only Nigerian men can transmit citizenship, Falana quoted section 42 of the Constitution: “A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person be subjected to any form of discrimination.” He emphasised that “a Nigerian woman shall not be denied the right to transmit citizenship to her children.”
On the issue of naturalisation, Falana said, “It is not correct to say that it is virtually impossible to acquire Nigerian citizenship,” and pointed to section 27 of the Constitution which outlines conditions under which foreigners may become Nigerian citizens through naturalisation.
He acknowledged that there is still gender bias in certain areas of the law, especially as “a foreign woman married to a Nigerian man can be registered as a citizen of Nigeria. But a foreign man married to a Nigerian woman is not entitled to such privilege,” calling for constitutional amendments to address what he described as “patriarchal legal contradictions.”
Falana also questioned Badenoch’s motive for making such comments on an international platform. “We are not unaware of the fact that Ms. Badenoch made the statement to appeal to the right-wing voters in the United Kingdom,” he said. “But that should not be done at the expense of Nigeria.”
He concluded by saying, “We call on the British minister to go through the relevant provisions of the Constitution and other laws before making sweeping statements on the legal system of her country of origin in future.”