Senate passes Legal Practitioners, Proceeds of Crime Recovery amendment bills

The Legal Practitioners Bill would repeal the existing Legal Practitioners Act and provide a modern regulatory framework for Nigeria’s legal profession.

The Senate on Thursday passed the Legal Practitioners Act Repeal and Re-enactment Bill 2026, alongside the Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Amendment Bill 2026.

The bills were passed following the presentation and consideration of reports by the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, chaired by Adeniyi Adegbonmire.

Presenting the committee’s report, Mr Adegbonmire, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the Legal Practitioners Bill would repeal the existing Legal Practitioners Act and provide a modern regulatory framework for Nigeria’s legal profession.

He said that the committee conducted thorough scrutiny of the legislation and recommended amendments aimed at strengthening the regulation of the legal profession and improving access to justice.

Mr Adegbonmire described the legal profession as the backbone of the rule of law, stressing that Nigeria deserved a constitutional, transparent, and credible regulatory framework.

“The committee is satisfied with the recommended amendments. The bill will provide the framework required for effective regulation of the legal profession,” he said.

The committee also presented its report on the Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Amendment Bill, recommending its passage with amendments after detailed legislative consideration.

According to the senator, the bill seeks to establish a Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Agency, with full legal personality to manage recovered assets.

He said that the proposed agency would oversee the recovery, preservation, management, and disposal of properties reasonably suspected to have been derived from unlawful activities across Nigeria.

“The bill addresses a genuine gap in Nigeria’s anti-corruption architecture. Its objectives are legitimate, its necessity is urgent, and its provisions serve the public interest,” he said.

Following consideration of the reports, the Senate dissolved into the Committee of the Whole and considered the bills clause-by-clause, after which it approved the reports, read both bills for the third time, and passed them.

In his remarks, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, commended members of the Judiciary Committee for their diligence in scrutinising the bills.

Mr Akpabio also applauded the senators for supporting the measures, saying that the passage of the bills would strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.

“I pray that those implementing these laws will act with probity, accountability, and integrity in the best interest of Nigeria,” he said.

(NAN)