Deportation process in Nigeria

Last year, the Federal Government deported 828 illegal immigrants from the country and this news made many wonder whether Nigeria actually deports people. Deportation is a legal process whereby a foreign national is removed from a country for violating immigration laws. 

And indeed, there is a deportation process in Nigeria. Under Nigerian law, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 defines “deport” under its Part 42 to mean: “the legal expulsion or removal from Nigeria of a person not being a citizen, to his country.

The process of deportation in Nigeria is governed basically by the Immigration Act 2015 and enforced by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

But deportation is only for foreign nationals who violate immigration laws, a Nigerian citizen cannot be deported from Nigeria.

Section 41 of the Nigerian Constitution states this expressly. It provides that every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereto or exit therefrom. 

However, a Nigerian can be extradited to another country if they face criminal charges there, but this is a different legal process governed by extradition treaties and laws. We wrote about this process in a newsletter titled, Arrest Across Borders.              

The Minister of Interior has the power to order for the deportation of an illegal immigrant. This order may be made upon recommendation from the Comptroller-General of the NIS or from a court of law, upon conviction of the immigrant for an offence for which the penalty is deportation. See section 19 and 44 of the Immigration Act 2015. 

There are some criminal offences that if committed by an immigrant, the law prescribes deportation as the penalty. Section 233A of the Criminal Code Act provides that an immigrant shall be deported if he/she is convicted for any of the following offences:

Householder permitting defilement of young girls on his premises (Section 219)

Causing or encouraging the seduction or prostitution of a girl under sixteen (Section 222A)

Allowing person under sixteen who is under your care or supervision to reside in or frequent a brothel (Section 222B)

Procuration of a girl or woman who is under the age of eighteen years to have unlawful carnal knowledge (s3xual intercourse) with any other person or persons either in Nigeria or elsewhere (Section 223)

Persons trading in prostitution (Section 225A)

Keeping a Brothel (Section 225B)

Under section 18 of the Immigration Act, the following prohibited immigrants can be refused entry or deported from Nigeria:

Any person who is without visible means of support or is likely to become a public charge

Any idiot, insane person or person suffering from any other mental disorder

Any person convicted in any country of any crime, wherever committed, which is an extradition crime within the provisions of the Extradition Act.

Any person whose admission would, in the opinion of the Minister, be contrary to the interest of national security

Any person against whom an order of deportation from Nigeria is in force.

Any person who-

Has not in his possession a valid passport; or

Being a person under the age of sixteen years has not in his possession a valid passport or is unaccompanied by an adult on whose valid passport particulars of such person appear;

Any prostitute

Any person who is or has been a brothel keeper or a householder that permits the defilement of a young girl on his premises.

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