President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve a bill that would empower the Federal Government to enter into agreements with foreign countries to transfer convicted Nigerians to serve their prison sentences in Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that the proposed legislation seeks to amend the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Act, 2004, to establish a legal framework for transferring convicted persons between Nigeria and other countries under mutual agreements.
The bill was conveyed to the Senate in a letter from Tinubu, which Senate President Godswill Akpabio read during plenary on Tuesday.
In the letter, the President said the proposed amendment would authorise Nigeria to negotiate agreements with foreign governments for the transfer of convicted offenders to the country.
He added that Nigeria would also be able to honour similar requests from other governments, subject to the terms and conditions of the relevant agreements.
Tinubu said the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Amendment Bill, 2026, was designed to amend the existing law to facilitate agreements between the Federal Government and foreign countries on the transfer of convicted persons.
He explained that the proposed legislation would also empower the President to extend the law’s application to countries with which Nigeria had entered into such agreements through an order published in the Federal Gazette.
According to the President, the provision would facilitate the implementation of prisoner-transfer agreements with countries outside the Commonwealth.
After reading the letter, Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further legislative consideration.
Ibori, Ekweremadu, Rufai Cases Highlight Issue
The proposed amendment comes amid cases involving Nigerians convicted and imprisoned in foreign countries, including former public officials and political figures.
Former Delta State Governor James Ibori was sentenced to 13 years in prison in the United Kingdom in 2012 after pleading guilty to money laundering offences. He was released in 2016.
Former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison in the UK in 2023 for his role in an organ-trafficking conspiracy involving a young man.
Similarly, Abidemi Rufai, a former aide to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, was sentenced to five years in prison in the United States in 2022 for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Nigeria and the United Kingdom already have a prisoner-transfer arrangement under which eligible prisoners may serve their sentences in their home countries, subject to applicable conditions and the agreement of both governments.
The proposed amendment seeks to establish a framework for similar arrangements with countries outside the Commonwealth.
However, the bill would not automatically entitle every Nigerian convicted abroad to serve their sentence at home. Any transfer would depend on the relevant agreement, the eligibility requirements and the consent of the countries involved.
