The Senate has approved the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Bill 2025 for second reading.
The current Proceeds of Crime Act 2022 is amended to improve accountability, transparency, and efficiency in the management of national assets recovered from unlawful activities.
The central agency would be established to take over the management and disposal of recovered assets, a task that currently falls under the purview of 18 government agencies, according to the bill sponsored by Senator Idiat Adebule, representing Lagos West.
Senator Adebule, who was in charge of the debate, claimed that the current arrangement had led to overlaps in responsibilities and inefficiencies, allowing for corruption and mismanagement. The bill attempts to establish an independent body to streamline the process and prevent leakages.
Asset recovery is opaque and unaccountable due to the lack of coordination and standardized procedures among the organizations, according to Adebule.
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The lawmakers’ initial views on the bill were polarized.
Senator Emmanuel Udende opposed the bill, despite Senator Sani Musa’s partial support for it, calling for stricter oversight and putting a stop to the creation of a new agency.
Udende warned against the proliferation of government bodies by claiming that
Legislators like Senator Isah Jibrin, who argued that “there are leakages by agencies that recover these assets, and we need to block them through an independent agency,” have opposite views.
Source: Channels TV
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