There is a uniquely Nigerian ceremony reserved for our compatriots who have had the misfortune—or entrepreneurial spirit—to be convicted of crimes abroad and deported home. It is not a parade. There is no brass band. No chieftaincy title. Just handcuffs, stern faces, and an unspoken but powerful message:
“Welcome back. We hope you enjoyed prison overseas. Now let us introduce you to ours.”
The Airport: Nigeria’s Most Efficient Remand Court
The drama unfolds at the airport. The deportee steps off the plane, exhausted, repentant, sometimes visibly older than when they left Nigeria. Before they can inhale the familiar fragrance of jollof, diesel fumes and disappointment, Immigration officials are already circling like airport pastors spotting a newcomer.
Passports are seized. Names are checked. Phones are collected. Then—plot twist—the Police arrive.
No warrant. No fresh charge. No allegation articulated beyond vague mutterings of “we are acting on instructions.” Within hours, our returning citizen is on their way to a police cell, and by Monday, a magistrate will be helpfully remanding them “pending advice from the DPP.”
Advice, of course, that may arrive sometime between the Second Coming and Nigeria winning the World Cup.
The Legal Basis: A Journey into Creative Constitutionalism
Now, one may ask—particularly those still clinging to the Constitution—on what legal basis does this second arrest occur?
Short answer: none that survives daylight.
Long answer: let us take a stroll through the legal rubble.
1. Immigration Act: Not a Time Machine
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has powers to:
control entry and exit, deport non-citizens, and generally look busy at borders.
What it does not have is the power to arrest a Nigerian citizen for having completed a sentence abroad. There is no provision in the Immigration Act that says:
“Once a Nigerian commits a crime overseas and is punished there, Immigration shall re-punish him locally, for vibes and moral balance.”
Deportation is not a conviction. Arrival is not evidence. Landing at MM2 is not an offence—despite how it may feel.
2. Police Powers: Suspicion Is Not a Souvenir
Yes, the Police may arrest on reasonable suspicion of committing an offence under Nigerian law.
But here is the small legal inconvenience:
Being convicted abroad is not, by itself, an offence in Nigeria.
Unless:
the same act constitutes a crime under Nigerian law and Nigeria has jurisdiction and the person has not already been punished for it.
Which brings us neatly to…
3. Double Jeopardy: Section 36(9), The Constitution Nigerians Pretend Not to See
Section 36(9) of the 1999 Constitution provides:
“No person who shows that he has been tried and convicted or acquitted for a criminal offence shall again be tried for that offence or for a criminal offence having the same ingredients.”
This is called autrefois convict, a Latin phrase meaning “leave this person alone, he’s suffered enough.”
Nigeria did not invent this principle. It is part of civilised criminal justice systems, which explains why we struggle with it.
So when a deportee has:
been investigated, charged, convicted, imprisoned, and expelled,
the Nigerian state cannot legally say:
“Yes, but have you considered suffering some more?”
4. Magistrates’ Courts: Where the Constitution Goes on Holiday
Of course, none of this would work without the silent cooperation of our most dependable institution: the remand-everything magistrate court.
Charges are usually:
vague, duplicated, legally impossible, or still “being investigated.”
Remand orders are granted with the enthusiasm of a Black Friday sale.
Nobody asks:
Where is the Nigerian offence? Where is the jurisdiction? Where is the proof? Where is Section 36(9)?
The answer, as always, is “My Lord, we are still investigating.”
Investigating what?
The fact that Heathrow exists?
5. The Real Reason: Optics, Headlines and Institutional Anxiety
Let us be honest. This is not about law. It is about optics.
A deported Nigerian is politically convenient:
Arrest him, the public feels safer. Detain him, the agencies look busy. Parade him, someone’s promotion letter moves faster.
Rule of law is, at best, an optional accessory.
Conclusion: One Crime, Two Punishments, Zero Shame
In functional democracies, punishment ends with the sentence.
In Nigeria, punishment is a renewable resource.
So when next you see a deportee arrested on arrival, remember:
It is not law. It is not justice. It is not constitutional.
It is simply Nigeria reminding you that once you are in the system, the system will always find you again.
Welcome home.
Please proceed directly to the cell
Centre for Nigeria Progress 