President Bola Tinubu has forwarded a bill to the Senate to expand Nigeria’s legal framework for transferring convicted offenders to and from non-Commonwealth countries.
Naija News reports that the Transfer of Convicted Offenders (Enactment and Enforcement) Amendment Bill, 2026, was included in a letter the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, read on the Senate floor on Tuesday.
The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Transfer of Convicted Offenders (Enactment and Enforcement) Act, Cap. T16, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Under the bill, the President can extend the Act’s provisions, through an order in the Federal Gazette, to any country with which Nigeria has signed a prisoner-transfer agreement.
Tinubu explained that the amendment would give effect to any scheme or deal the Federal Government reaches with foreign governments on the movement of convicted persons.
The President said the bill would provide a legal basis to implement such agreements with countries outside the Commonwealth, giving Nigeria more room to negotiate and enforce prisoner-exchange arrangements.
Prisoner-transfer pacts typically allow inmates to complete their sentences in another country under agreed conditions, and help address the legal and administrative hurdles involved.
In his letter, Tinubu urged senators to treat the bill as urgent.
“While it is my hope that the Senate will consider this submission expeditiously, please accept, Distinguished Senate President and Distinguished Senators, the assurances of my highest consideration,” he stated.
The bill, transmitted under Section 58(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, must go through the National Assembly’s legislative process before it can become law.
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