The Nigerian Senate has passed the second reading of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Bill 2025, which seeks to amend the existing Proceeds of Crime Act 2022 to enhance transparency and efficiency in managing recovered assets.
Sponsored by Senator Idiat Adebule of Lagos West, the bill proposes the establishment of a central agency that would take over the management and disposal of assets recovered from unlawful activities, a function currently distributed among 18 different government agencies.
During the debate, Senator Adebule highlighted that the current arrangement has created overlapping responsibilities and inefficiencies that potentially enable mismanagement and corruption.
"The lack of coordination and standardised procedures among the agencies has made asset recovery opaque and unaccountable," Adebule stated while presenting the bill.
The proposed legislation received mixed reactions from lawmakers. Senator Sani Musa expressed partial support, emphasizing the need for stronger oversight while cautioning against creating another government agency. Meanwhile, Senator Emmanuel Udende opposed the bill, arguing that existing agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) already possess the mandate to manage recovered assets.
However, Senator Isah Jibrin strongly supported the bill, noting that "there are leakages by agencies that recover these assets, and we need to block them through an independent agency."
Despite the opposition, the bill successfully scaled the second reading and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Human Rights and Legal Matters for further legislative work. The committee is expected to report back within four weeks.
If passed into law, the bill would significantly reform how Nigeria manages assets recovered from corrupt practices and other criminal activities, potentially improving accountability in the asset recovery process.
