Proceeds of Crime Agency Bill: Senate Reverses Passage, Akpabio Faces Allegation
The Senate has rescinded its earlier passage of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to establish a standalone agency for managing assets recovered from criminal activities. The reversal has sparked allegations that Senate President Godswill Akpabio may have influenced the decision to halt the proposed agency, although no evidence has been presented publicly to substantiate the claim. The bill, sponsored by Senator Idiat Adebule, representing Lagos West, had passed through first and second readings, committee scrutiny, a public hearing and consideration by the Committee of the Whole before lawmakers approved all 51 clauses and passed it on July 9, 2026. However, Senate Leader Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, representing Ekiti Central, later moved a motion seeking to rescind the Senate’s approval. The motion was adopted, effectively reversing the July 9 passage. Sources cited in the report alleged that the rescission was intended to frustrate the creation of the agency. However, the reasons for the reversal were not independently established in the information available. The proposed agency was recommended by the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters following a public hearing held in February 2026. The committee had proposed replacing the existing system, under which proceeds-of-crime recovery and asset management responsibilities are spread across several government institutions, with a centralised agency. The proposed body would have been responsible for recovering, preserving, managing and disposing of assets suspected to have been acquired through unlawful activities.
The bill also contained provisions for the restraint, seizure, confiscation and forfeiture of proceeds of crime, as well as non-conviction-based procedures for asset recovery. Stakeholders that submitted memoranda during the legislative process included the EFCC, ICPC, NDLEA, DSS, Code of Conduct Bureau, National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Bar Association and Transparency International Nigeria, among others. The committee subsequently reviewed the submissions before recommending the establishment of the agency. Interestingly, Bamidele, who later moved the motion to rescind the bill’s passage, was also listed as a member of the Senate committee that considered the legislation and recommended the agency’s establishment. With the rescission, the bill no longer has the legislative approval it secured on July 9. It would therefore have to go through the legislative process again if the proposed agency is to be established under the bill.
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