Right to Freedom of Movement

Per the Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary, movement means to walk, to carry oneself. The right is often seen as an important extension of the right to personal liberty and the hallmark of citizenship of any country. See Apatheker v Secretary of State where Douglas J. stated that the right to move freely from state to state is a privilege and immunity of national citizenship. This right is found in Article 13 of the UDHR, Article 12 of the ICCPR and Article 12 of the African Charter on Human and People’s rights.

S. 41(1) of the 1999 constitution provides that:

Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereby or exit therefrom.

Note that the section specifically states that this freedom belongs to citizens of Nigeria.

The scope of this right is also reinforced by the provisions of S.15(3) and (4) which provide:

(3) For the purpose of promoting national integration, it shall be the duty of the State to:

(a) provide adequate facilities for and encourage free mobility of people, goods and services throughout the Federation.

(b) secure full residence rights for every citizen in all parts of the Federation.

(c) encourage inter-marriage among persons from different places of origin, or of different religious, ethnic or linguistic association or ties; and

(d) promote or encourage the formation of associations that cut across ethnic, linguistic, religious and or other sectional barriers.

(4) The State shall foster a feeling of belonging and of involvement among the various people of the Federation, to the end that loyalty to the nation shall override sectional loyalties.

The importance of this right can be further appreciated, if one considers the fact that it makes certain other rights more meaningful. For instance, without it, the right to personal liberty, freedom of assembly and association, would be of no practical use. Also, the right to change residence or domicile would of course, be meaningless without the right to acquire property.

This right connotes the following:

1. Freedom to move freely throughout Nigeria.
2. Freedom to reside in any part of Nigeria.
3. The right not to be expelled from Nigeria.
4. The right not to be refused entry into Nigeria.
5. Right not to be refused exit from Nigeria.

The freedom to reside anywhere necessarily carries with it, the right to be entitled to all the rights and privileges guaranteed by the federal government to every citizen. The state may however in consideration of the multi ethnic nature of the nation, reserve the rights and privileges to prescribe a minimum period of residency after which a citizen can take advantage of certain privileges accorded to citizens of that state as long as such prescriptions are not excessive and do not extend to fundamental human rights.

Where there is uncertainty as to a person’s nationality however, the right to freedom of movement is not absolute and can be denied.

Furthermore, the right contains the fact that Nigerian citizens have the right to own a passport. This does not rule out certain regulations being laid down as requirement for acquiring a passport. See the case of Olisa Agbakoba v The Director of State Security Services where the court held that the wrongful seizure of the plaintiff’s passport at the airport by the defendants was an infringement of his freedom of movement. The position on this right to own a passport is the same in the United States. Goldberg J in Apatheker v Secretary of State stated thus that the right to travel is part of the liberty of which the citizen cannot be deprived without the due process of law.

Rights of non-citizens

Non-Citizens generally have a right also to move freely throughout the country provided they entered the country lawfully, but they can be expelled in accordance with the law. A non-citizen can however be deprived of entry into Nigeria or deported from Nigeria based on certain conditions stipulated under S.18 of the Immigration Act such as the person in question not having any visible means of support, being an insane person, being a convict of a crime committed in another country, inter alia. This however does not rule out the discretion of an immigrant officer to refuse entry generally under S.7 of the Act.

Limitations

See S.41(2) of the 1999 constitution which states:

Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society-

(a) imposing restrictions on the residence or movement of any person who has committed or is reasonably suspected to have committed a criminal offence in order to prevent him from leaving Nigeria; or

(b) providing for the removal of any person from Nigeria to any other country to:-

(i) be tried outside Nigeria for any criminal offence, or

(ii) undergo imprisonment outside Nigeria in execution of the sentence of a court of law in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty:

Provided that there is reciprocal agreement between Nigeria and such other country in relation to such matter.

There is a further restriction of the right under S.45(1) of the Constitution. Thus, where the movement of persons could result in public unrest or disorder or the infringement of the rights of other persons, the law will not hesitate in obstructing the freedom of movement of the person in question. Also note that it is the Courts that determine whether or not a law is reasonably justifiable.

Extradition

Extradition is an act where one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to their law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement process between the two jurisdictions and depends on the arrangements made between them. Besides the legal aspects of the process, extradition also involves the physical transfer of custody of the person being extradited to the legal authority of the requesting jurisdiction.

Through the extradition process, one sovereign jurisdiction typically makes a formal request to another sovereign jurisdiction ("the requested state"). If the fugitive is found within the territory of the requested state, then the requested state may arrest the fugitive and subject him or her to its extradition process. The extradition procedures to which the fugitive will be subjected are dependent on the law and practice of the requested state.

Between countries, extradition is normally regulated by treaties. Where extradition is compelled by laws, such as among sub-national jurisdictions, the concept may be known more generally as rendition.