Nigerians convicted in foreign courts could soon serve their sentences at home if the Senate passes a bill sent to it by President Bola Tinubu.
The Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Amendment Bill, 2026, would alter the 2004 Act to let the Federal Government sign prisoner-transfer agreements with other countries. Under such deals, Nigeria could request the return of its citizens jailed abroad, and also honour similar requests from foreign governments, depending on the terms agreed.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio read Tinubu’s letter at Tuesday’s plenary and referred the bill to the Committee on Rules and Business.
The President said the amendment would also let him extend the law to any country with which Nigeria signs such an agreement, through an order published in the Federal Gazette. This, he explained, would make it possible to implement prisoner-transfer deals with countries outside the Commonwealth.
The move follows a series of high-profile convictions of Nigerians overseas. Former Delta State Governor James Ibori was jailed for 13 years in the UK in 2012 for money laundering and freed in 2016. Ex-Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu received nine years and eight months in the UK in 2023 over an organ-trafficking conspiracy. Abidemi Rufai, a former aide to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, was sentenced to five years in the US in 2022 for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Nigeria and the UK already operate a prisoner-transfer arrangement that allows eligible inmates to serve their terms in their home countries, with both governments’ consent.
The new bill would provide a framework for similar arrangements beyond the Commonwealth.
It would not, however, guarantee the return of every Nigerian convicted abroad. Each transfer would depend on the specific agreement, eligibility conditions and the consent of the countries involved.
