President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the Criminal Matters Mutual Assistance Bill directed at providing Nigerian leverage to cooperate on criminal problems with other countries.
The bill, which is now law, will come into force on June 20, 2019.
The approval of Mr Buhari was announced in a declaration by Ita Enang, the National Assembly Matters Special Adviser to the president.
The act will specifically facilitate Nigeria’s cooperation with other nations in fields of mutual help in prosecuting criminal cases, including locating and identifying suspects, witnesses and other equipment for prosecuting criminal cases.
The statement recognized other legal advantages to include:
“(I) (9) the identification, tracing, freezing, restraining, recovery, forfeiture and confiscation of proceeds, property and other instrumentalities of crime;
“(II) (k) the interception of telecommunications (II) (i) conversion of electronic surveillance
“(IV) (m) the restraint of dealings in property, or the freezing of assets, that may be recovered, forfeited or confiscated in respect of offences.
“And other assistance that is not contrary to the municipal law of the requesting State.”
According to the declaration, the federation’s attorney-general is appointed as the main authority for creating, receiving and transmitting aid requests from and to other nations as well as performing other tasks reserved in the act.
“Where the alleged offence is political or an offence under military law or is not an offence under the laws of Nigeria, the provisions of this law shall not apply,” the statement notes.
