President Bola Tinubu has transmitted a bill to the Senate seeking to empower the Federal Government to enter into agreements with foreign countries for the transfer of convicted Nigerians to serve their sentences at home.

The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Act, 2004, to establish a legal framework for transferring convicted offenders between Nigeria and other countries under mutual agreements.

The bill was conveyed to the Senate in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday.

In the letter, Tinubu said the proposed amendment would empower Nigeria to negotiate agreements with foreign governments for the transfer of convicted offenders to Nigeria.

He added that the country would also be able to honour similar requests from other governments, subject to the terms of the relevant agreements.

According to the President, the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Amendment Bill, 2026, seeks to amend the existing law to give effect to agreements between the Federal Government and other countries on the transfer of convicted persons.

Tinubu said the proposed law would also empower the President to extend its application to countries with which Nigeria had entered into such agreements through an order published in the Federal Gazette.

He explained that the provision would facilitate the implementation of prisoner-transfer agreements with countries outside the Commonwealth.

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

The proposed amendment comes amid cases of Nigerians convicted and imprisoned in foreign countries, including former public officials and political figures.

Former Delta State Governor James Ibori 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 arrangement that allows 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 framework for implementing similar arrangements with countries outside the Commonwealth.

However, the bill would not automatically guarantee the transfer of every Nigerian convicted abroad. Any transfer would depend on the relevant agreement, the conditions governing eligibility and the consent of the countries involved.