The Senate passed the proposal to change the Extradition Act, 2004 for a second review on Tuesday.
The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti-Central), discussed the changes to Sections 2 (1) and 7(4) of the Act in his opening argument.
He clarified that the amendment would allow Nigeria to accept extradition requests from countries with which it has signed a treaty, instead of just Commonwealth countries as it stands now.
The current law only applies to Commonwealth countries and any others with which Nigeria has an extradition treaty or arrangement.
The proposed amendment in Section 7 outlines the process for issuing arrest warrants for effective execution of extradition requests.
Opeyemi provided more details, explaining that the extradition law dictates how Nigeria can request the surrender of a person accused or convicted of a crime outside its territory.
He added that the amendment is necessary to ensure compliance with international obligations related to Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing, and to remove Nigeria from the grey list through compliance with the International Country Risk Guide.
Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, led the proceedings.
The bill was approved by majority voice vote and was referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are simultaneously working on the bill.
