What to do after a British person dies in Nigeria
This guide gives advice about the death of a British person in Nigeria, including information on burial, cremation and repatriation.
If you are dealing with the death of a child, multiple deaths, a suspicious death or a case of murder or manslaughter, or have read the guide below and you need more support, call:
Lagos:
- +234 (1) 277 0780
- +234 (1) 277 0781
- +234 (1) 277 0782
Abuja:
- +234 (9) 462 3100
Contact the travel insurance company
If the person who died had insurance, contact their insurance company as soon as possible. Insurance providers may help to cover the cost of repatriation. Repatriation is the process of bringing the body home. Insurance providers may also help with medical, legal, interpretation and translation fees.
If the person who died had insurance, the insurance company will appoint a funeral director both locally and in the UK.
What to do if the person who died didn’t have insurance
If you are not sure whether the person who died had insurance, check with their bank, credit card company or employer.
If the person who died did not have insurance, a relative or a formally appointed representative will usually have to appoint a funeral director and be responsible for all costs. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides a list of UK-based international funeral directors.
The FCDO cannot help with any costs. In some cases, funeral directors and lawyers may provide services on a pro bono basis. Pro bono work is done for free or for a reduced cost depending on your circumstances. This is decided on a case by case basis.
Charities and organisations that offer support
Some UK-based charities and organisations may be able to offer assistance, support and information to people affected by a death abroad. The FCDO provides a list of UK-based charities and organisations.
Register the death and obtain a death certificate
You must register the death in the country where the person died. In Nigeria, you need to register the death and obtain a death certificate at the National Population Commission.
You can do this yourself or appoint a funeral director to register the death. If you appoint a local funeral director to register the death on your behalf, you will also need to provide a ‘letter of authorisation’ stating that you authorise them to act on your behalf. The funeral director will tell you what the letter needs to include.
To get the death certificate, take the ‘medical certificate’ stating the cause of death to the closest National Population Commission office. You can get the medical certificate from the hospital where the person died, or the doctor who attended the death if it was not in a hospital.
If the cause of death was sudden or unnatural, the death certificate will not be issued until a post-mortem is carried out. The death certificate will be in English.
You do not need to register the death in the UK. The local death certificate can usually be used in the UK for most purposes, including probate.
If you wish, you can register the death with the Overseas Registration Unit (ORU). You can buy a UK-style death certificate, known as a Consular Death Registration certificate. The ORU will send a record to the General Register Office within 12 months.
If the person who died suffered from an infectious condition, such as hepatitis or HIV, you must tell the local authorities, so they can take precautions against infection.
Mortuary facilities
Mortuary facilities vary throughout Nigeria. Most major towns and cities have mortuaries with temperature-controlled storage facilities, but these may not be available in rural areas. This may mean the body cannot be preserved in a good condition.
Private mortuaries in Lagos State are of a similar standard to the UK. Temperature-controlled storage facilities are available in some states including Lagos, FCT, Rivers, Delta, Ekiti, Osun, and Ogun.
If the person died somewhere without mortuary facilities, the funeral director will need to move the body to a temperature-controlled storage facility as quickly as possible.
Public storage costs approximately £4 to £5 per day. Private storage costs at least £44 per day.
Deal with a local post-mortem
Post-mortems are normally performed when the cause of death is unknown, unnatural, sudden or violent. Post-mortems are carried out by forensic doctors appointed by the court. Cultural or religious sensitivities may not be taken into account. The FCDO cannot stop or interfere with the process.
The decision to perform a post-mortem depends on how the person died, their prior wishes and those of their next of kin. For COVID-related deaths, post-mortems in private hospitals cost between N350,000 and N800,000 (approximately £600 to £1,300). Depending on how the person died, post-mortems can also be performed without their next of kin’s consent.
During a post-mortem, small tissue samples and organs may be removed and retained for testing without the consent of the family. You will not automatically be told if this happens. Organs will be replaced within the body, unless you give consent for them to be kept.
The post-mortem report usually takes at least 2 weeks to be published. It will be made available to the next of kin.
If you want a copy of the post-mortem report, you must apply through the coroner in the UK (if you bring the body home) or through the local court dealing with the death.
Bring the body home
If the person who died had insurance, find out if their insurance provider can help cover the cost of repatriation. Repatriation is the process of bringing the body home. If so, they will make all the necessary arrangements.
If the person who died is not covered by insurance, you will need to appoint an international funeral director yourself.
Repatriation will be delayed if there is a post-mortem.
Find an international funeral director
A relative or a formally appointed representative must appoint a UK-based international funeral director for the person who died to be repatriated to the UK. The FCDO provides a list of UK-based international funeral directors.
Local funeral directors will work with UK-based international funeral directors to meet all the necessary requirements both locally and in the UK. This includes providing documents such as a local death certificate and certificate of embalming. To release the body for repatriation, the death certificate and letter of authorisation by the next of kin is needed.
Advice and financial assistance for repatriation
For organisations and charities that may be able to offer assistance with repatriation, see information on LBT Global in coping with death abroad: specialist support and advice or repatriation charities in Northern Ireland and Wales.
If you want to have a post-mortem in the UK once the body has been repatriated, you can request one from a UK coroner. The coroner will then decide if a post-mortem is needed. If you want the person who died to be cremated, you need to apply for a certificate from the coroner (form ‘Cremation 6’).
Bring the ashes home
You should not have the person cremated abroad if you want a UK coroner to conduct an inquest into their death.
If you choose local cremation and wish to take the ashes back to the UK yourself, you can usually do so. Check with your airline about specific restrictions or requirements, for example whether you can carry the ashes as hand luggage. When leaving Nigeria with human ashes you will need to:
- get a certificate from the local authority that gives you permission to take ashes out of Nigeria. Your funeral director should be able to arrange this for you
- show the death certificate
- show the certificate of cremation
- fill in a standard customs form when you arrive in the UK
If it is not possible for you to transport the ashes yourself, a funeral director will be able to make the necessary arrangements. The FCDO provides a list of UK-based international funeral directors.
Bury or cremate the body locally
To have a local burial or cremation, a relative or a formally appointed representative needs to appoint a local funeral director. The FCDO provides a list of English-speaking funeral directors in Nigeria.
The funeral director will be able to explain the local process. If a local burial or cremation takes place, there will not be a coroner’s inquest carried out in the UK.
Retrieve belongings
If the person who died had insurance, check with the insurance company if this covers the return of their personal belongings. Personal belongings found on the person who died at the time of death are given to the police if the family is not present.
If you choose to repatriate, the local funeral director may be able to collect all personal belongings from the police or court and ship them together with the body.
If there is an investigation into the death, clothing may be retained as evidence and will not be returned until the court case is finished.
The FCDO cannot help with the cost of returning personal belongings to the family.
Find a lawyer
You can apply to appoint a lawyer in certain circumstances, such as a suspicious death. The FCDO provides a list of English speaking lawyers in Nigeria.
Cancel a passport
To avoid identity fraud, the passport of the person who died should be cancelled with Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO). To do this, you need to complete a D1 form.
If you plan to repatriate the person who died to the UK, you may require their passport to do this. In these circumstances, you should cancel the passport after they have been repatriated.
Check you have done everything you need to do in the UK
Check this step-by-step guide for when someone dies to make sure you have done everything you need to do in the UK after someone has died. You can find information on how to tell the government about the death, UK pensions and benefits and dealing with the estate of the person who died.