In August of 2010, the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa, told a Nigerian woman she cannot apply for her children without a letter from the children’s father, and kindly offered to issue the documents as soon as the paternal endorsement is received.

The shocked woman asked the reason for her denial and the reason given by the immigration officer at the consulate was that “in Nigeria, the children belong to the man.” This incident is a pointer to the series of institutional discriminations against women in the country, including the lack of opportunities for men married to Nigerian women to take their wives’ nationality if they so desire, while foreign women married to Nigerian men have no such problem.

In the same vein, Immigration officials at the Lagos Passport Office, Ikoyi, confirmed that the father’s consent is indeed a prerequisite while a pplying for the passports of minors.

A senior official at the office, who doesn’t want to be named because he did not have clearance to speak on the issue, said this is done to prevent situations where the mother of a child might want to take such a child away from their father without the father’s knowledge, for instance, while divorce is being ironed out.

“I have had cases here where fathers have denied being aware that their children have applied for passports,” he said.

However, Chibogu Obinwa, the senior programme officer of BAOBAB, a women’s human rights advocacy group, thinks the reason given by the Immigration Service cannot hold water.

“It does not take into consideration the circumstances which may have led the woman wanting to take the children out of the marriage,” she said. “It could be that the woman is in an abusive marriage, (to her and the children)”.

Another senior official at the office of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) at Alagbon Close, Lagos, who also requested anonymity, corroborated what the officer said at the Passport Office.

“It is purely for security reasons,” he said. “It is intended to check crimes such as human trafficking and child labour.” When asked if the mother’s consent is required when a father is the one applying for their passport, the immigration official said this may not be necessary since Nigeria is a patrilineal society.

“You must understand that Nigeria is a patrilineal society and the child belongs to the father. In a country like Ghana that is a matrilineal society,
this may be possible.”


http://nigeriang.com/newstoday/nigerian-passport-rules-are-stacked-against-women/3369/

A history of discrimination

The Nigerian immigration law has a long history of discrimination against women in its administrative policy on the issuance of international passports. Prior to June 2009, when Priye Iyalla-Amadi, the wife of the famous Nigerian writer, Elechi Amadi, got what is being regarded today as a landmark judgement against the NIS, even adult women were required to get their husband’s consent before they can apply for international passports.

In the case between Priye Iyalla-Amadi versus the NIS, a federal high court in Port Harcourt declared as unconstitutional the policy of the NIS which compelled a married Nigerian woman to produce a letter of consent from her husband as a condition for issuance of international passport.

They gave reasons for their decision
I think it's valid.
Must we bring gender equality into everything?

Both parents' consent is required to issue passport or give VISA to minors, its not just Nigerian thing, in many countries, this is a requirement. Will they issue the passport or VISA to the father alone without the mother's consent ? Yes, because fathers are breadwinners by default.

BiafranNigerian:
Both parents' consent is required to issue passport or give VISA to minors, its not just Nigerian thing, in many countries, this is a requirement. Will they issue the passport or VISA to the father alone without the mother's consent ? Yes, because fathers are breadwinners by default.

Actually, the US requires the consent of BOTH parents; meaning that the father's appearance and consent isn't sufficient when applying for a child's passport.

Moreover, requiring married women to obtain consent from their husbands during passport application is regressive tho

Don't really believe this crap..

babyfaceafrica:
Don't really believe this crap..

Really

- According to the 1999 constitution (as amended) children of a Nigerian mother, who is married to a non-Nigerian man, are still citizens of Nigeria by birth. So those children are eligible to receive Nigerian passports.