President Bola Tinubu has forwarded a bill to the Senate seeking to facilitate the transfer of Nigerians convicted of offences in foreign countries to serve their prison sentences in Nigeria under agreements between the countries involved.
The proposed legislation, transmitted to the Senate on Tuesday, seeks to amend the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Act, 2004, to provide a framework for transferring convicted offenders between Nigeria and other countries under mutually agreed terms.
In a covering letter read by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu said the bill would empower the Federal Government to enter into agreements with other countries for the transfer of convicted offenders to Nigeria to serve their sentences.
The proposed law would also allow Nigeria to honour similar requests from other countries, subject to the terms of the relevant agreements.
Tinubu said in the letter, ‘The Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Amendment Bill 2026 seeks to amend the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Act, Act Cap 216, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004, to give effect to the provisions of any scheme or agreement for the transfer of convicted offenders between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the government of any other country.’
He explained that the bill would empower the President, through an order published in the Federal Gazette, to extend the application of the law to any country with which Nigeria had entered into such an agreement.
According to him, the proposed amendment would also facilitate the implementation of transfer agreements with countries outside the Commonwealth.
Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further action, after which it is expected to be scheduled for debate and consideration.
Several prominent Nigerians have served or are serving prison sentences abroad following criminal convictions.
One of the most notable cases is that of former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who was convicted in March 2023 at the Old Bailey in the United Kingdom for conspiring to arrange the travel of a young Nigerian man to the UK for the purpose of harvesting his kidney, in an offence prosecuted under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act.
On 5 May 2023, Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison. His wife, Beatrice, received a four-year-and-six-month sentence, while their associate, Dr Obinna Obeta, was sentenced to 10 years.
Former Delta State Governor James Ibori was also sentenced to 13 years in prison in the UK in 2012 after pleading guilty to money laundering offences. He was released in 2016 and subsequently returned to Nigeria.
It remains unclear whether the proposed legislation is intended to facilitate the transfer of high-profile inmates such as Ekweremadu to Nigeria.
Ultimately, the implementation of the proposed law would depend on the terms of agreements reached between Nigeria and the countries concerned, as well as the applicable legal requirements.