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

A merged picture of Tinubu and National Assembly

President Bola Tinubu has transmitted a bill to the Senate seeking to empower the Nigerian government to enter into agreements with other countries for the transfer of convicted Nigerian citizens to serve their sentences in Nigeria.

The bill seeks to amend the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Act, 2004, to facilitate the transfer of convicted offenders between Nigeria and other countries under mutual agreements.

Mr Tinubu transmitted the bill to the Senate in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday.

In the letter, the president said the proposed legislation would empower the Nigerian government to enter into agreements with other countries for the transfer of convicted offenders to Nigeria.

He also said the legislation would enable Nigeria to honour similar requests from foreign governments, subject to the terms of the agreements.

“The Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Amendment Bill 2026 seeks to amend the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Act, Act Cap 216, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004, to give effect to the provisions of any scheme or agreement for the transfer of convicted offenders between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the government of any other country,” Mr Tinubu said.

He added that the bill would empower the president, through an order published in the Federal Gazette, to apply the law to any country with which Nigeria had entered into such an agreement.

According to him, this would facilitate the implementation of agreements with countries outside the Commonwealth.

After reading the president’s letter, Mr Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further legislative consideration.

Nigeria has had several cases involving public officials and political figures convicted by foreign courts. Among them is former Delta State Governor James Ibori, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison in the United Kingdom in 2012 after pleading guilty to money laundering offences. He was released in 2016.

Former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison in the UK in 2023 for his role in an organ-trafficking conspiracy involving a young man.

Similarly, Abidemi Rufai, a former aide to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, was sentenced to five years in prison in the United States in 2022 for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Nigeria and the United Kingdom already have a prisoner-transfer agreement that provides for eligible prisoners to serve their sentences in their home countries, subject to the applicable conditions and the agreement of both governments.

The proposed amendment seeks to provide a legal framework for implementing prisoner-transfer agreements with countries outside the Commonwealth. However, the proposed legislation would not automatically entitle every Nigerian convicted abroad to be transferred home, as eligibility would depend on the relevant agreement and its conditions.