Former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke, has expressed that former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun could not be said to remain a Nigerian citizen, having earlier forfeited her citizenship.
Adoke stated this in an interview with Premium Times on Saturday reacting to the ruling of a Federal High Court that she could serve without the certificate of the National Youth Service Corps.
Adoke argued that Adeosun lost her Nigerian citizenship when she was 21 by not renouncing her U.K. citizenship as expected under the 1979 constitution.
He expressed that Adeosun could not automatically regain her Nigerian citizenship under the 1999 constitution without going through any process.
“How did she regain her citizenship? Was that citizenship having regained, without going through a process? Can you regain something that has been forfeited? And even if we say so, does it mean it is as of right or she has to go through a process to regain her citizenship?
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“So she has to tell us at what point she regained her citizenship and what step she took, to become a Nigerian citizen after she has lost her citizenship. The issue is not as simple as they are making it to look like.
“Some schools of thought will tell you that she is no longer a Nigerian citizen as of the time of the 1999 constitution came into operation.
“She forfeited her citizenship, and you cannot backdate that law. If she wants to become a Nigerian citizen, she has to become a Nigerian citizen by a process.”
