The United States government has initiated formal steps to revoke the citizenship of certain naturalised citizens based on a newly revealed Justice Department memo, which instructs federal attorneys to prioritise denaturalisation for individuals who committed certain crimes or gave false information during their naturalisation.

According to a report by The Guardian on Monday, the memo, dated June 11, calls for civil actions against individuals who either “illegally procured” naturalisation or obtained it through “concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.”

In contrast to criminal cases, individuals facing civil denaturalisation are not guaranteed legal representation, and the standard of proof required by the government is lower.

At the heart of the development are approximately 25 million US citizens who were born abroad and later naturalised, based on 2023 data. The memo outlines 10 priority categories for denaturalisation.

The memo notes that those subject to civil proceedings are not entitled to legal counsel as they would be in criminal proceedings.

Additionally, the government carries a lighter burden of proof in civil matters than in criminal ones.

The directive specifies that efforts will target individuals involved “in the commission of war crimes, extrajudicial killings, or other serious human rights abuses … [and] naturalized criminals, gang members, or, indeed, any individuals convicted of crimes who pose an ongoing threat to the US”.

The civil rights division of the Justice Department has been central to implementing Trump’s policy goals, which include ending diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in government and halting transgender healthcare, among others.

This comes as the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency recorded its 13th in-custody death for the fiscal year starting October 2024. In comparison, there were 12 deaths throughout the previous fiscal year ending in September 2024.

On Friday, Jim Ryan, president of the University of Virginia, stepped down amid an investigation by the Justice Department’s civil rights division.

The investigation scrutinised the university’s DEI programs and its continued use of race and ethnicity in certain initiatives and scholarships.

In recent days, the Justice Department also filed lawsuits against 15 US district attorneys in Maryland for issuing an order that halted the immediate deportation of migrants contesting their removal.

Reports suggest that the civil rights division is undergoing major changes, shifting away from its historic role in fighting racial discrimination and aligning more with directives from presidential executive orders.

National Public Radio reported that between January and May, around 250 attorneys—roughly 70% of the division’s legal staff—had left the department.

The denaturalisation push has already seen results, as one person has lost citizenship in recent weeks.

On June 13, a judge revoked the citizenship of Elliott Duke, a US military veteran originally from the UK, who was convicted of distributing child sexual abuse content and failed to disclose the offence during his naturalisation process.

Immigration lawyers have raised concerns that civil denaturalisation removes certain rights from individuals, including access to legal counsel and higher evidentiary standards, while also speeding up the process.

“It is kind of, in a way, trying to create a second class of US citizens,” said Sameera Hafiz, policy director of the Immigration Legal Resource Center, speaking to NPR.

The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Sokoto State has downplayed the ongoing efforts to create a political coalition in Northern Nigeria, labelling it as a group of “paperweight politicians” who lack electoral significance.

In an interview (with The Punch) at the Sokoto Government House on Saturday, Alhaji Isa Sadiq-Achida, the APC State Chairman, asserted that “even if any so-called coalition’s emerges in Northern Nigeria, Sokoto alone will deliver enough votes to bridge any gaps for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the North.”

He questioned the influence of former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, alleging that he had become disconnected from the people of his state, especially those in Southern Kaduna.

“I doubt that Malam Nasir El-Rufai will have any meaningful political relevance in Kaduna, especially considering how deeply he hurt the people of Southern Kaduna during his tenure. He didn’t even allow them to vote freely,” he stated.

Commenting on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Sadiq-Achida claimed that the PDP leader was facing internal turmoil and diminishing support in Adamawa.

“Everyone knows that Senator Aishatu Binani won that election, but something else happened. Atiku is even still struggling with his own governor, and his traditional title was stripped recently. That tells you everything you need to know.”

He said those championing the Northern coalition lacked grassroots followership, stressing that, “Those forming these coalitions are not real politicians. They’re politicians on paper. Many of them can not even win their polling units.”

Referring to former Senator Abubakar Gada, the Sokoto APC Chairman accused him of acting as a saboteur within the party before defecting to the Social Democratic Party, where he lost badly in the 2023 governorship election.

“Take Senator Abu Gada, for instance. He was sponsored to cause division in the APC. He went to court and lost. He later joined the SDP and contested for governorship. Out of 3,900 polling units in Sokoto, he got only 230 votes. He didn’t win even a single polling unit.”

He claimed that Gada lacked support in his hometown of Gadawa, stating that many locals barely knew him.

“He spent most of his life working at the NNPC. It was during Governor Wamakko’s administration that he was brought into politics and handed a senatorial ticket. After he won, he turned against Wamakko. Once the ticket was taken from him, he couldn’t win anything again, not even his polling unit.”

Sadiq-Achida reaffirmed the strength of the ruling party in Sokoto and expressed certainty that the state would deliver overwhelming support for President Tinubu and the APC in upcoming elections.

The Federal Government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are partnering to strengthen Nigeria’s response to criminal and terrorist finance related to minerals.

Consulting the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake recently, officials of the UN agency said the project, funded by the Canadian government will strengthen the capacity of criminal justice actors in the detection, investigation and prosecution of illicit financial flows associated with conflict financing, including the financing of armed groups and money laundering in the solid minerals sector.

UNODC’s Project Co-ordinator on counter-terrorism, Mr. Tom Parker, who led a team including project officers Inneke Geysens-Bourgions and Nicole Andersen, praised the Minister for the establishment of the Mining Marshals and other measures to combat illegal mining, adding that the agency will work with the ministry to implement the project.

Responding, Alake expressed delight at the significant support that the project would give to the efforts of the federal government to combat illegal mining and other crimes funded by proceeds of illicit mining of natural resources.

He explained that the Mining Marshals were created from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to avoid the constitutional challenges of setting up a new security outfit.

“ In the illegal mining area, we set up the Mining Marshals. When I got in here, I discovered we needed a new security architecture specifically for the mining sector. I sought the permission of Mr. President to set up Mining Marshals, and they’ve been doing a good job arresting and prosecuting illegal miners. The essence is to send a strong message that it can’t be business as usual. And it is yielding salutary effects. A lot of operators are trying to regularise their operations and are obeying the mining laws, “he said.

The minister said the president has approved a new satellite monitoring system for mines to further curb malpractices and enable the security operatives to identify the location of the incident and mobilise the necessary forces to the site.

Segun Tomori, FSCA

Special Assistant on Media to the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development.

30th June, 2025.