Senate moves to create agency for asset recovery management

…as Legal Practitioners Act amendment scales third reading

By Taiwo Scholarstica

The Nigerian Senate on Thursday passed a bill seeking to establish an independent agency to recover, preserve, manage and dispose of assets linked to unlawful activities.

This is as the upper legislative house also approved the Legal Practitioners Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026, after adopting the reports of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.

The two bills; the Legal Practitioners Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026 (SB. 965) and the Proceeds of Crime Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026 (SB. 343) scaled third reading during Thursday’s plenary following consideration of the committee’s recommendations.

Presenting the reports, Chairman of the committee, Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire, said the Legal Practitioners Bill seeks to repeal the existing Legal Practitioners Act, Cap. L11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and replace it with a modern legal framework for regulating the legal profession.

According to him, the proposed legislation is designed to strengthen professional standards and ensure that the legal regulatory framework reflects present-day realities.

“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,” he said.

Adegbonmire said the committee carried out a thorough review of the bill because of 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.”

“The framework that governs it must be constitutionally sound, proportionate and worthy of the confidence of both the profession and the public itself,” he explained.

Speaking on the Proceeds of Crime Act (Amendment) Bill, the Senator said the legislation is intended to address longstanding concerns over the handling of assets recovered from criminal activities by creating a dedicated agency to oversee the process.

He explained that the proposed agency would be responsible for recovering, preserving, managing and disposing of properties reasonably suspected to have been acquired through unlawful means.

According to him, the bill addresses a major gap in Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework.

He noted that the bill addresses a genuine and long-standing gap in Nigeria’s anti-corruption architecture.

Following the presentation of the reports, the Senate resolved into the Committee of the Whole, considered the bills clause-by-clause, adopted the recommendations and passed both pieces of legislation through a voice vote.

Speaking after the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Act (Amendment) Bill, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the establishment of the new agency would ensure recovered assets are managed transparently 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 passage of the bill comes amid growing concerns over the custody, maintenance and disposal of assets recovered by anti-corruption agencies, with stakeholders repeatedly calling for a centralised and transparent system to prevent abuse, duplication of responsibilities and the deterioration of recovered properties.

Both bills will now be transmitted to the House of Representatives for concurrence before being forwarded to President Bola Tinubu for assent.