Tinubu transmits bill to Senate to allow transfer of convicted Nigerians abroad back home

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By Linda Ikeji
28 October 2026, 11:49 am
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President Bola Tinubu has actually sent a costs to the Senate looking for to empower the federal government to participate in arrangements with other nations for the transfer of founded guilty Nigerian residents to serve their sentences in the house.

The proposed legislation intends to modify the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Act of 2004, assisting in detainee transfers under shared arrangements in between Nigeria and foreign countries. Senate President Godswill Akpabio checked out the president’s letter throughout Tuesday’s plenary session.

According to the letter, the legislation will allow Nigeria to both repatriate its people founded guilty abroad and honor mutual demands from foreign federal governments, based on particular treaty terms.

“The Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Amendment Bill 2026 looks for to modify the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Act, Act Cap 216, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004, to offer result to the arrangements of any plan or contract for the transfer of founded guilty wrongdoers in between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the federal government of any other nation,” President Tinubu mentioned.

The expense will empower the president, through an order released in the Federal Gazette, to use the law to any nation with which Nigeria develops an official transfer contract, extending beyond existing Commonwealth structures.

Following the reading, Senate President Akpabio referred the expense to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for more legal processing.
Prominent cases including Nigerians founded guilty abroad consist of previous Delta State Governor James Ibori, who served a sentence for cash laundering in the United Kingdom, and previous Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who was founded guilty in the UK in 2023.

Furthermore, previous Ogun State political assistant Abidemi Rufai was sentenced for wire scams in the United States in 2022.

While Nigeria and the UK currently share a prisoner-transfer plan, the brand-new change develops a more comprehensive legal structure for carrying out contracts with non-Commonwealth countries.

Eligibility for transfer will depend strictly on the conditions and arrangements laid out in specific bilateral contracts instead of ensuring automated repatriation for every single founded guilty person abroad.