Negotiating ECOWAS Free Movement Protocols: Nigeria’s Domestic Political Constraints

This study investigates the domestic political constraints that have shaped Nigeria's negotiation and implementation of the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment. Nigeria's participation in ECOWAS free movement frameworks is a cornerstone of its regional integration commitment, yet domestic political pressures, security concerns, and xenophobic incidents have generated periodic tensions between Nigeria's multilateral obligations and its internal politics. Drawing on two-level game theory and regional integration frameworks, this research examines the factors that have shaped Nigeria's negotiating behaviour on free movement issues from 2019 to 2024, focusing on border closure episodes, the deportation of West African nationals, and debates about the ECOWAS passport scheme. The study employs a qualitative methodology, drawing on ECOWAS summit documentation, Nigerian federal government policy statements, National Assembly deliberations, and expert interviews with migration scholars at the University of Lagos. The research also incorporates analysis of public opinion data on regional migration attitudes from the Afrobarometer survey. Findings are expected to show that Nigeria's free movement engagement is driven by elite-level integration commitments but constrained by populist politics, security anxiety, and weak implementation infrastructure. Recommendations address how Nigeria can better manage the domestic politics of regional integration. Keywords: ECOWAS, free movement, Nigeria, two-level game, regional integration.