No Proof, No Passport! Falana, Sani Tear Into Kemi Badenoch’s Nigeria Claim”

Falana to Kemi Badenoch: Your Children Are Nigerians, Stop Misleading the Public

Prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), and former Senator Shehu Sani have criticised UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch over her controversial remarks on Nigerian citizenship, calling her comments inaccurate and misleading.

According to iReporter Online, Badenoch, during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, claimed that she could not pass her Nigerian citizenship to her children due to her gender, she argued that while Nigerians find it easy to acquire British citizenship, it is “virtually impossible” for foreigners — including her own children — to obtain Nigerian citizenship through descent.

“It’s virtually impossible, for example, to get Nigerian citizenship,” Badenoch said, “i have that citizenship by virtue of my parents, but I can’t give it to my children because I’m a woman.”

Reacting strongly, Falana described Badenoch’s comments as “a display of utter ignorance,” accusing her of distorting facts for political advantage. According to iReporter Online, he stated that Badenoch was misinforming the British public in her attempt to appeal to conservative voters by undermining her country of origin.

“In her desperate attempt to impress the British electorate, Kemi Badenoch keeps running down Nigeria,” Falana stated. “Contrary to her misleading claim, her children are Nigerians because she is a Nigerian.

The Nigerian Constitution clearly provides that any person born outside Nigeria to a Nigerian parent — mother or father — is entitled to citizenship.”

He referenced Section 25(b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution, which confirms that children born to a Nigerian parent abroad automatically qualify for citizenship.

According to iReporter Online, Shehu Sani also weighed in on the matter, criticizing Badenoch for her apparent detachment from Nigeria while still seeking to involve her children in its citizenship system.

In a post via his X handle, Sani questioned her motives and suggested she focus on her life in the UK.

He wrote, “Why should Kemi Badenoch be bothered about getting Nigerian citizenship for her offspring from a country she rebuked and rejected? She should just enjoy her adopted home and leave us alone in our father’s home.”

The controversy has reignited debates around dual citizenship and the narratives of diaspora politicians regarding their heritage.

”IREPORTER REPORTS”