Senate passes bill to create agency for management of recovered assets

The Senate has passed a bill seeking the establishment of an independent agency responsible for the recovery, protection, administration and disposal of assets linked to illegal activities.

The legislation, according to lawmakers, is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts and promote transparency in the handling of recovered properties.

The upper chamber also approved the Legal Practitioners Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026, after reviewing and adopting the recommendations of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.

Both bills, the Legal Practitioners Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026 (SB. 965) and the Proceeds of Crime Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026 (SB. 343) passed the third reading stage during Thursday’s plenary session.

Presenting the committee’s reports, its chairman, Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire, explained that the Legal Practitioners Bill seeks to repeal the existing Legal Practitioners Act, Cap. L11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and introduce a new legal framework for regulating the profession.

He said the proposed law would improve professional standards and create a regulatory structure that meets present-day demands.

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 added that the committee carried out a detailed review of the bill due to its importance to Nigeria’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 Proceeds of Crime Act (Amendment) Bill, the lawmaker said the legislation was aimed at resolving challenges surrounding the handling of assets recovered from criminal proceeds by creating a specialised agency.

He explained that the proposed agency would oversee the recovery, preservation and disposal of assets believed to have originated from unlawful activities.

According to him, the bill would address an important 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.”

After reviewing the committee’s recommendations, the Senate moved into the Committee of the Whole, adopted the amendments clause-by-clause and passed both bills through a voice vote.

Reacting to the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Act (Amendment) Bill, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the new agency would ensure recovered assets are properly managed 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 approval of the bill follows growing concerns over the management, preservation and disposal of properties recovered by anti-corruption agencies, with calls for a unified and transparent system to prevent misuse and loss of such assets.

The two bills will be sent to the House of Representatives for concurrence before being forwarded to the President for final assent.