Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled
to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part of Nigeria. In the
same vein, no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused
entry or exit from the country. this right is guaranteed under section 41 of
the 1999 constitution to citizens of Nigeria can be curtailed by a law
reasonably justifiable in a democratic society:
(a)placing restriction on the
residence or movement of a person who have committed or is reasonably suspected
to have committed a criminal offense whereby the person is prohibited from
leaving Nigeria or;
(b)providing for removal of any
person from Nigeria to any other country subject to a reciprocal agreement
between Nigeria and that other country, to b tired for any criminal offense of
which he has been found guilty.
The locus classics (classical case)
of this, is the case of MINISTER OF
INTERNAL AFFAIRS V. SHUGABA./ that case, the respondent was an elected
member and majority leader of the Borno State house of assembly on the
political platform of the great Nigeria peoples party (GNPP). On the pretext
that he was not a Nigeria citizen but a Chadian, he was deported to cad and his
Nigeria passport seized from him on the orders of the appellant. The court
held, among other things, that his right to freedom of movement had been
violated and consequently awarded aggravated and exemplary damages in his
favour as well as ordered that his passport be returned to him.
Also,
in OLISA AGBAKOBA V. DIRECTOR S.S.S. and
ANOR, the court of appeal held that
the seizure of the appellant’s passport by men of the state security services
was illegal since the passport is the property of the citizen and not that of
the Government.