FACT-CHECK: Can a Woman’s Child be Ineligible for Nigerian Citizenship as Badenoch Claimed?

BY: Quadri Yahya

Claim:

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, claims she can’t transfer her Nigerian citizenship to her children because of her gender.

Verdict: Misleading.

Full Text:

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, has claimed that her gender hindered her from transfering her Nigerian citizenship to her children because of her gender.

Badenoch made the comment in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, as she discussed immigration policies and the differences between Britain and countries like Nigeria.

“It’s virtually impossible, for example, to get Nigerian citizenship.

“I have that citizenship by virtue of my parents, I can’t give it to my children because I’m a woman.”

Recall that the U.S. recently made a visa restrictions policy impacting Nigeria and many other African and non-African countries.

Verification:

While it is unclear whether Badenoch had encountered challenges transfering her Nigerian citizenship to her children, the Nigerian Constitution does not restrict such transfer to one gender.

There are three means to become a Nigerian citizen: citizenship by birth, citizenship by registration and citizenship by naturalization.

As Section 25(1)(b) and (c) of the Nigerian Constitution clearly state: “every person born in Nigeria after the date of independence either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents is a citizen of Nigeria and “every person born outside Nigeria either of whose parents is a citizen of Nigeria” is also a Nigerian by birth.

Conclusion:

The Nigerian Constitution does not limit citizenship eligibility or transfer to one gender.