Thoughts on the Constitutionality of the recent Deportation of some Citizens based on the Indigeneship Controversy in Nigeria

Quite recently, the citizenship – indigeneship controversy rented the Nigeria’s political and social space. The media, both print and electronic, and the now very popular social network, like Facebook and Twitter, were awash with stories of how some State Governments in Nigeria “deported” some Nigerian citizens to their states of origin on the ground that they were not indigenes of the states deporting them. In other cases, some non – indigenes have been reportedly relieved of their jobs and ordered to return to their states of origin.

This paper questions the constitutionality of the administrative or executive actions of some State or Local Governments wherein they discriminate against Nigerian citizens resident in their states, on the basis of the citizen – indigene divide, contrary to the said citizens’ constitutional rights to freedom of movement and freedom from discrimination. In this article, we shall examine the concept, nature and types of citizenship and indigeneship. We shall also explore the constitutional framework which protects Nigerian citizens from discrimination in their own country. We would give some attention to the negative effect of this citizen – indigene divide as well as proffer some suggestions on the way forward.