What if you’re a Nigerian serving time in a foreign prison, thousands of miles from your family? President Tinubu says he wants to make it easier to bring you home.

President Bola Tinubu has just asked the Senate to urgently amend Nigeria’s law on the transfer of convicted offenders.

In simple terms, right now, our law mainly allows prisoner swaps with Commonwealth countries under a deal from 1988.

Tinubu’s new bill, the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Amendment Bill 2026, wants to change that.

It would empower the President to extend prisoner transfers to any country Nigeria has an agreement with, not just Commonwealth nations, through an order in the Federal Gazette.

We have thousands of Nigerians serving sentences abroad, from the UK to Thailand, often in tough conditions, far from family, language and support. And we have foreign nationals in our own overcrowded correctional centres. In 2011, Nigeria already amended the law to remove the need for a prisoner’s consent for transfer, following a compulsory deal with the UK.

This new move broadens that net even further.

Explainer: It’s not about freeing anyone. It’s about where you serve your sentence. If approved, a convicted person could be transferred home to complete their jail term under Nigerian supervision.

What next? The Senate has referred the bill to its Committee on Rules and Business. If it scales through, the Federal Government can start signing wider bilateral transfer agreements.

A small legal tweak, but a huge deal for families waiting at home.

Source: cbinews.tv

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