Senate passes bill to create agency for asset recovery

The Senate on Thursday approved two key pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening the administration of justice and improving the management of assets linked to criminal activities.

The bills; the Legal Practitioners Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026 (SB. 965) and the Proceeds of Crime Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026 (SB. 343), were passed after the chamber considered and adopted the report of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.

If eventually enacted, the Proceeds of Crime Act (Amendment) Bill will establish an independent agency responsible for the recovery, preservation, management and disposal of assets suspected to have been acquired through unlawful means.

Lawmakers said the measure is intended to strengthen Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework by introducing greater transparency and accountability in the handling of recovered assets.

Presenting the committee’s report, its Chairman, Adeniyi Adegbonmire, explained that the Legal Practitioners Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill seeks to replace the existing Legal Practitioners Act, Cap. L11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, with an updated legal framework that reflects current realities and enhances the regulation of the legal profession.

According to him, the proposed legislation is designed to improve professional standards while providing a more effective regulatory regime for legal practitioners.

He said, “The Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and legal matters recommends that the Senate do consider and pass the bill for an Act to repeal the Legal Practitioners Act Cap. L11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and enact the Legal Practitioners Act, 2025, to provide for the regulation of the legal profession in Nigeria and for related matters, subject to the observations, findings and amendments set out in this report.”

Adegbonmire told the chamber that the committee carried out a detailed examination of the bill because of its importance to the country’s justice system.

“The legal profession is the guardian of the rule of law, and the primary instrument through which Nigerians access justice,” he said.

“The framework that governs it must be constitutionally sound, proportionate and worthy of the confidence of both the profession and the public itself,” he stated.

On the proposed amendment to the Proceeds of Crime Act, Adegbonmire said the bill is intended to address persistent challenges associated with the management of assets recovered from criminal activities through the establishment of a specialised agency.

He explained that the proposed Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Agency would oversee the recovery, preservation and disposal of properties reasonably suspected to have originated from unlawful activities.

He added that the legislation would close a major institutional gap in Nigeria’s anti-corruption system.

He said, “The bill addresses a genuine and long-standing gap in Nigeria’s anti-corruption architecture.

“Its objectives are laudable, its need is urgent, and the committee is satisfied that, with the amendments recommended in this report, it will serve the public interest well.”

Following the presentation of the reports, senators resolved into the Committee of the Whole, where the recommendations were considered and adopted clause-by-clause before both bills were read the third time and passed by voice vote.

Commenting after the approval of the Proceeds of Crime Act (Amendment) Bill, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the establishment of the new agency would ensure that recovered assets are administered in a transparent manner for the benefit of Nigerians.

“Now we have an agency that will manage those properties for the benefit of Nigerians.

“I also thank my colleagues for rising to the occasion and seeing the need to conclude this,” he said.

The passage of the legislation comes against the backdrop of longstanding concerns over the handling, maintenance and disposal of assets recovered by anti-corruption agencies, with stakeholders repeatedly advocating a centralised framework to eliminate duplication, prevent abuse and preserve the value of recovered properties.

The two Senate-passed bills will proceed to the House of Representatives for concurrence before being transmitted to the President for assent.