NAP Statelessness Nigeria

What Is This Policy?

The National Action Plan to Eradicate Statelessness in Nigeria (NAP) is Nigeria’s strategic framework to identify, prevent, reduce, and resolve statelessness — the condition of a person not recognised as a national by any State under the operation of its laws. Developed through multi-stakeholder consultations in 2016, 2018, and 2020, and publicly launched in September 2022, the NAP fulfils Nigeria’s commitment under the 2015 Abidjan Declaration to develop a national-level response to statelessness. It maps five priority action areas and establishes institutional coordination mechanisms to ensure that every person in Nigeria can access the nationality, documentation, and fundamental rights they are entitled to.

Who Does It Target?

Stateless persons and populations at risk of statelessness in Nigeria, including long-term residents unable to prove citizenship of any country Children born in Nigeria who risk being rendered stateless due to gaps in birth registration, parentage, or gender-discriminatory nationality laws Former residents of the Bakassi Peninsula transferred to Cameroon in 2008 under the ICJ ruling, many of whom lost documented nationality Women and girls whose nationality rights are affected by gender-discriminatory provisions in nationality laws Refugees, migrants, IDPs, and other persons of concern who may face statelessness risks alongside displacement Federal ministries and agencies including the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, NCFRMI, NIMC, NPC, NHRC, FMoJ, NAPTIP, and NEMA State-level governments, civil society organisations, UN agencies (UNHCR, IOM), academia, and the National Assembly

What Does It Aim to Achieve?

Identify and reduce existing populations of stateless persons in Nigeria through research, data collection, and targeted interventions Prevent new cases of statelessness by strengthening birth registration systems, reforming nationality laws, and ensuring all children born in Nigeria can acquire a nationality Address the specific statelessness crisis arising from the 2008 transfer of the Bakassi Peninsula from Nigeria to Cameroon, by providing documentation and nationality pathways to affected persons Eradicate gender and other forms of discrimination embedded in Nigerian nationality and citizenship law that render women and children stateless Protect stateless persons already in Nigeria by establishing a statelessness determination procedure and providing access to documentation, services, and routes to citizenship Advance Nigeria’s contributions to the UNHCR Global Action Plan to End Statelessness and ECOWAS regional commitments, and support the achievement of SDG 16.9 (legal identity for all)

Key Features

Five Priority Action Areas: The NAP is structured around five priority areas: (1) Research, advocacy and sensitisation; (2) Preventing childhood statelessness; (3) Addressing statelessness caused by transfer of territory (Bakassi); (4) Eradicating gender and other discrimination; and (5) Protection of stateless persons National Steering Committee: A High-Level Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee, inaugurated at the 2022 launch, oversees implementation, coordination, and reporting across all relevant ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) Constitutional Reform Pathway: The NAP calls for amendments to Chapter III of the 1999 Constitution to remove gender discrimination in citizenship provisions and ensure that no child born in Nigeria is rendered stateless Birth Registration Drive: Strengthening NPC birth registration systems to ensure every child born in Nigeria receives a birth certificate, a foundational document for nationality determination and prevention of childhood statelessness NIN Integration: Coordinated with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)’s National Identity Number (NIN) roll-out to identify persons at risk of statelessness as the system is expanded to all citizens and legal residents Statelessness Determination Procedure: Calls for establishment of a formal procedure to identify and officially recognise stateless persons, granting them protection status and a pathway to naturalisation or citizenship verification Multi-Stakeholder Development: Developed through two technical workshops (2016, 2018) and a joint ministry review (2020), involving government agencies, UN bodies, civil society, academia, and the National Assembly

Current Status

Rollout Stage: Active — NAP adopted November 2020; publicly launched 2 September 2022 in Abuja; National High-Level Steering Committee inaugurated; implementation ongoing across five priority action areas Steering Committee: The Ministry of Interior leads implementation as focal ministry; the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs (NCFRMI) provides secretariat support; UNHCR provides technical and financial assistance IBelong Campaign: Nigeria joined the UNHCR #IBelong global campaign in 2022, making five commitments; two of those commitments had been realised by end of 2024; the remaining three are pending domestication of the 1961 Convention Convention Domestication: Despite ratifying both statelessness conventions, Nigeria has not yet enacted implementing domestic legislation; the Ministry of Interior and UNHCR are working on a Memorandum of Understanding to clarify institutional roles and advance domestication Birth Registration Progress: UNHCR and partners registered over 1,700 Cameroonian refugee children with the National Population Commission in 2024, reducing statelessness risk; over 39,000 IDPs in Benue State were assisted with civil registration Constitutional Amendment Advocacy: In May 2024, NGOs and academia submitted memorandums to the House of Representatives calling for constitutional amendments on citizenship and statelessness; UNHCR facilitated these submissions UPR Engagement: Nigeria submitted a national report to the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) referencing the NAP and statelessness commitments, further anchoring the plan in international accountability mechanisms

How to Access

Stateless Persons & At-Risk Individuals: Contact the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs (NCFRMI) or UNHCR Nigeria for statelessness determination support, documentation assistance, and NIN enrolment Civil Society & NGOs: Engage with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and UNHCR to participate in NAP implementation, monitoring, and advocacy activities under the five priority areas State Governments: Collaborate with Federal focal ministries and UNHCR to implement birth registration drives, train local officials on statelessness, and report on at-risk populations to the National Steering Committee Private Sector & Academia: Support research, advocacy, and sensitisation efforts under Priority Area 1; engage with legal faculties and think tanks on constitutional reform recommendations Healthcare & Education Providers: Refer undocumented or stateless individuals to NCFRMI and UNHCR for documentation support, ensuring access to health and education services pending citizenship resolution Contact: Ministry of Interior — focal ministry: interior.gov.ng | National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs (NCFRMI): ncfrmi.gov.ng | UNHCR Nigeria: unhcr.org/nigeria

Important Terms

Statelessness: The condition of a person who is not considered a national by any State under the operation of its laws; stateless persons lack the legal protections normally afforded to citizens, including access to education, healthcare, employment, and political rights Statelessness Determination Procedure: A formal administrative or judicial process by which a State identifies whether a person is stateless; it grants recognised stateless persons a protection status and a pathway to acquiring nationality Abidjan Declaration: A 2015 ministerial-level commitment by ECOWAS member states to eradicate statelessness in West Africa by 2024, mandating member states to adopt national action plans and reform discriminatory nationality laws Bakassi Transfer: The 2008 handover of the Bakassi Peninsula from Nigeria to Cameroon pursuant to the 2002 ICJ ruling; Nigerian residents who remained faced statelessness as they lost Nigerian documentation without automatic acquisition of Cameroonian nationality NIN (National Identity Number): A unique identifier issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) required for access to government services; persons who cannot prove citizenship risk exclusion from the NIN system, creating statelessness risk

Impact & Metrics

Statelessness is estimated to affect at least 4.3 million persons globally; Nigeria, as one of Africa’s most populous countries, faces significant internal statelessness risk particularly among border communities and undocumented migrants Nigeria joined 10 West African nations with a national action plan on statelessness as of 2022, making it one of the leading countries in the region on structured statelessness eradication The Bakassi territorial transfer in 2008 created a distinct population of persons at immediate risk of statelessness; the NAP is the first instrument providing a structured federal response to their documentation and nationality needs Failure to act on statelessness directly undermines SDG 16.9 (legal identity for all by 2030) and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), as stateless persons are systematically excluded from economic and social participation UNHCR and partners registered over 3,700 refugee and IDP children through birth registration programmes in 2024, reducing statelessness risk for a significant at-risk cohort in Nigeria’s north and south-south regions

Official Resources

Website: interior.gov.ng | ncfrmi.gov.ng | nimc.gov.ng | unhcr.org/nigeria Policy Document: National Action Plan to Eradicate Statelessness in Nigeria (2020) — available via the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and UNHCR Nigeria Contact: Ministry of Interior (Focal Ministry), Abuja | National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs (NCFRMI) | UNHCR Nigeria Country Office, Abuja Summary prepared using the Policy Summary Template | Source: NAP to Eradicate Statelessness Nigeria 2020, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs / UNHCR, Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative, UNHCR IBelong Campaign, UPR Documentation | March 2026

Legal Framework

Nigeria's National Action Plan on Statelessness operates under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Section 25 — Nigerian citizenship provisions), the Immigration Act 2015, and the National Population Commission Act. It aligns with the UNHCR Campaign to End Statelessness by 2024, the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child guidelines.