On 16 September 2020, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Justice presented a memo at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting focused on introducing a legal and institutional framework for managing assets that constitute proceeds of crime, through the Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Bill (hereinafter, “the bill”). The memo presentation by the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, Abubakar Malami, noted that the President, Muhammadu Buhari had transmitted the Bill to the House of Representatives for expedited hearing and passage into law, noting that it had been passed by the National Assembly in 2019.

The Bill will establish a new anti-corruption agency called the “Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Agency” which will be responsible for coordinating and managing all assets seized domestically or returned from abroad, following anti-corruption probes. Indeed, a marked improvement from the current situation where recovered assets are scattered across several agencies with limited coordination, nationally and internationally. The Attorney General states that this initiative would create a “one-stop-shop for managing seized assets in an open and accountable way”

Additionally, this agency will boost revenue generation and allocation in a transparent and accountable manner through inter-agency collaboration on the disbursement of recovered assets.