Falana tells Badenoch her children are Nigerian despite citizenship claim.

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has challenged UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch over her claim that she cannot pass Nigerian citizenship to her children because she is a woman.

During a CNN interview with Fareed Zakaria, Badenoch said it is almost impossible to obtain Nigerian citizenship and that, although she herself has Nigerian citizenship through her parents, she cannot pass it on to her children due to her gender.

She also claimed that it is easier for Nigerians to acquire British citizenship than for foreigners to become Nigerians.

In response, Falana described Badenoch’s statement as “utterly ignorant” and accused her of spreading misinformation to gain political favor in Britain.

He explained that, according to Sections 25(b) and (c) of the Nigerian Constitution, children born outside Nigeria to Nigerian parents are Nigerian citizens regardless of the parent’s gender. He also referenced Section 42(2), which prohibits discrimination based on birth circumstances, gender, or class, meaning Badenoch’s children are indeed Nigerian citizens, regardless of whether she wants them to claim it. They hold dual citizenship with Nigeria and Britain.

Falana further refuted Badenoch’s claim about the difficulty for foreigners to become Nigerian citizens, citing Sections 26 and 27 of the Constitution that allow foreigners to acquire Nigerian citizenship through naturalization or registration if legal conditions are met.

However, he acknowledged a gender bias in the law: while a woman married to a Nigerian man can be registered as a citizen, a man married to a Nigerian woman cannot, reflecting a patriarchal legal system that should be changed.