The Nigerian Senate has moved one step closer to passing a new law to better manage money and property taken from criminal activities. The Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Bill 2025 recently passed its second reading.

This bill is an update to the 2022 version of the law. It aims to make the process of managing recovered assets more open, fair, and efficient.

Senator Idiat Adebule from Lagos West, who introduced the bill, suggested setting up one main agency to manage and sell off recovered assets. Right now, this job is handled by 18 different government agencies, which causes confusion and inefficiency.

Senator Adebule said the current system leads to poor coordination, overlapping roles, and sometimes even corruption. She believes that a single independent body would make the process smoother and reduce waste.

She added that without proper cooperation and standard rules, the way recovered assets are handled has become unclear and unaccountable.

Reactions from lawmakers were mixed. Some agreed with the bill, while others raised concerns.

Senator Sani Musa partly supported the idea. He said more control is needed but warned against creating a new agency. Meanwhile, Senator Emmanuel Udende completely opposed the bill. He argued that agencies like the EFCC already have the power to manage recovered assets and that creating more government bodies isn’t necessary.

On the other hand, Senator Isah Jibrin and others showed strong support. They believe that there are too many loopholes in the current system and that a new agency is needed to stop mismanagement.

Despite the differing opinions, the Senate approved the bill for further review. It has now been sent to the Senate Committee on Human Rights and Legal Matters. The committee will study the bill in more detail and report back in four weeks.