The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has received an executive bill from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at establishing a comprehensive statutory framework to facilitate the transfer of convicted Nigerians serving prison sentences in non-Commonwealth countries back home to complete their terms.
The executive communication was formally presented to the upper legislative chamber on Tuesday during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The proposed legislation, titled the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Amendment Bill, 2026, seeks to amend the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Act, CAP 216, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
The amendment expands the scope of Nigeria’s international judicial cooperation, creating formal legal pathways for bilateral offender-transfer agreements beyond traditional Commonwealth jurisdictions.
Key provisions of the bill presented for Senate consideration include:
- Empowering the Federal Government to negotiate, execute, and operationalize bilateral prisoner-transfer agreements with non-Commonwealth partner nations.
- Granting statutory authority to the President to extend the application of the law to foreign jurisdictions through an official order published in the Federal Gazette once an agreement is concluded.
- Enabling Nigeria to honor reciprocal requests from foreign governments to transfer foreign nationals convicted in Nigerian courts back to their home countries.
- Guaranteeing that offender transfers remain subject to strict eligibility criteria, treaty conditions, and the mutual consent of both nations, ensuring transfers are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
The Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Amendment Bill, 2026 seeks to give legal effect to agreements between the Federal Government and other countries on the transfer of convicted persons, enabling the implementation of prisoner-transfer frameworks with countries outside the Commonwealth.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The legislative initiative addresses an existing legal gap in Nigeria’s statutory framework. While Nigeria maintains functional prisoner-transfer arrangements with the United Kingdom and select Commonwealth partners, the new bill equips the country with a standardized legal mechanism to handle cases involving Nigerians convicted in non-Commonwealth jurisdictions globally.
Upon reading the executive communication, Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for legislative scheduling.
The committee is expected to place the measure on the order paper for its second reading, following which it will undergo detailed evaluation, stakeholder engagement, and committee review before returning to plenary for final consideration.
