Reps  pass Proceeds of Crime Bill

Nigeria’s House of Representatives has passed the legal and
institutional framework for the confiscation, seizure, forfeiture,
recovery and management of assets or proceeds derived from unlawful
activities including instrumentalities used or intended to be used in
the commission of unlawful activities through third reading on
Tuesday.

The bill titled: ‘Proceeds of Crime’, was sponsored
Chairman, House Committee on Financial Crimes, Kayode Oladele.

Rep. Kayode Oladele
The bill had also scaled through second
reading in the Senate awaiting consideration by Committee of the Whole.
Frontline News Online gathered that the House
version which is similar to the Senate’s will be transmitted to the
Senate for concurrence in order to fast track its passage and
transmission to the President for his assent.

Meanwhile, the passage of the bill has been hailed by stakeholders, as Attorney-General of
the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN had at different fora,
called for the urgent passage of the Proceeds of Crime Bill, opining that will go a long way in strengthening, the
anti-corruption war.

Speaking on the timelessness of the bill, Akinwole Ogunlola, a lawyer, expressed optimism that
when signed into law, the bill will supersede the controversial
Executive Order Number 6 of 2018 on the temporary  take over of suspicious
assets connected to corruption.

Ogunlola who commended Oladele (APC-Ogun) and members of the 8th House
of Representatives for achieving the feat before going on recess,
argued that the Executive Order which was recently signed by the
President on the same subject-matter, raises a lot of constitutional
and due process questions.

The Bill which seeks to harmonize and consolidate the existing legal
frameworks, also seeks to establish a central agency to manage the
proceeds recovered from illegally acquired properties.

According to a report by the Federal Ministry of Justice while
justifying the need for the passage of the bill as far back as 2014,
the Proceeds of Crime Bill was a product of far-reaching consultations
and collaborations with stakeholders and development partners with the
view to ensure that its provisions are in conformity with global best
practices while also meeting Nigeria’s legal framework for rule of
law.

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