President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the Senate to amend existing legislation governing the transfer of convicted offenders, paving the way for the implementation of bilateral prisoner transfer agreements with non-Commonwealth countries.
The executive request was conveyed in an official letter from the President, which was read during plenary on Tuesday by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Through the communication, President Tinubu transmitted the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Amendment Bill 2026 to the upper legislative chamber for consideration and passage.
The legislative proposal seeks to amend the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Act, CAP 216, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
Key elements of the bill include:
- Enabling the Federal Government to operationalize prisoner transfer schemes and mutual agreements concluded with countries outside the Commonwealth network.
- Empowering the President to officially extend the application of the law to any partner nation via a designated publication in the Federal Gazette once an agreement is finalized.
- Ensuring Nigerian citizens serving prison terms abroad in non-Commonwealth jurisdictions and foreign nationals convicted in Nigeria, can be transferred to serve their remaining sentences closer to their home countries under established international frameworks.
The Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Amendment Bill 2026 seeks to amend the existing Act to give full legal effect to schemes or agreements between the Federal Government and foreign nations, particularly enabling the implementation of agreements concluded with countries outside the Commonwealth.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Following the reading of the executive communication, Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further legislative scheduling and processing.
The committee is slated to schedule the bill for its second reading, after which it will undergo detailed legislative scrutiny before returning to plenary for final consideration.
