Nigerians living in the Philippines and Cambodia have threatened to initiate legal action against the Federal Government unless a fresh directive requiring them to pay compulsory monthly and annual dues is withdrawn.
In a petition to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the diaspora group condemned a public notice it said was issued by the Nigerian Embassy in Manila, Philippines.
The petitioners, through their consortium of senior lawyers led by Chief Chukwuma Nwachukwu, alleged that the Embassy, in a notice dated May 20, stated that it would deny consular-related services to Nigerians who fail to register with the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization Philippines (NIDOPHIL) and pay the required dues.
According to the petitioners, those mandated to register and pay the mandatory monthly and annual dues included students in both countries.
“We act as Solicitors to concerned Nigerian Citizens living in the Philippines and Cambodia hereinafter referred to as our clients and on whose instructions, we write this letter.
“It is our clients’ brief that the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Manila, Philippines on the 20th day of May 2026 issued a letter titled public notice to all Nigerians in the Philippines and the Royal Kingdom of Cambodia wherein at paragraph 3 of the said notice the embassy is quoted as saying “no Nigerian national shall be attended to on any consular matter without presenting evidence of NIDOPHIL registration”.
“The Embassy in the above said notice at paragraph 4 is also quoted as saying “as a matter of policy, individuals without proof of registration shall not be granted entry through the Dasmarinas village gate for consular related services at the Embassy premises. Kindly note that this restriction also applies to all Nigerian students in the Philippines.”
“We have reviewed the content of the said public notice and it is our legal view that same amounts to a gross subversion of the fundamental rights of every Nigerian to freely associate and should not be coaxed into joining any association as enshrined under Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended).
“NIDOPHIL is an association which every Nigerian living in the Philippines and Cambodia has the constitutional right to belong to freely and not by being compelled to join same as the Nigerian Embassy is seen to be doing through this public Notice.
