The Senate has passed for second reading the proceeds of crime (Recovery and Management) bill 2025, aimed at amending the existing Proceeds of Crime Act 2022, to enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the management of national assets recovered from unlawful activities.
The bill sponsored by Senator Idiat Adebule representing Lagos West, proposes the establishment of a central agency to take over the management and disposal of recovered assets, a function currently shared among 18 government agencies.
Leading the debate, Senator Adebule argued that the current arrangement has created overlapping responsibilities and inefficiencies, opening the door to mismanagement and corruption hence the bill seeks to create an independent body to streamline the process and block leakages.
‘The lack of coordination and standardized procedures among the agencies has made asset recovery opaque and unaccountable’.
Lawmakers instantly held polarised views on the bill. While Senator Sani Musa expressed partial support, stressing the need for stronger oversight but cautioning against the creation of a new agency, Senator Emmanuel Udende opposed the bill, arguing that existing agencies like the EFCC are already empowered to manage recovered assets and warning against the proliferation of government bodies.
Conversely, lawmakers like Senator Isah Jibrin have massive support to the bill, arguing that ‘there are leakages by agencies that recover these assets, and we need to block them through an independent agency’.
Inspite of the opposition, the bill scaled second reading and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Human rights and legal matters for further legislative work and is expected to report back in four weeks.
