On Wednesday, the Senate shelved a bill proposing the regulation of private investigation practices in the country. The bill, sponsored by Senator Osita Ngwu (PDP, Enugu West), was rejected by a majority of lawmakers during the floor debate.
In his lead debate, Senator Ngwu, who serves as the Senate Minority Whip, explained that the bill aimed to establish a framework for licensing private investigators and regulating their conduct to ensure professional standards. He noted that countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Canada have well-established private investigation practices.
Senator Ngwu also pointed out that many private investigators are former law enforcement, military, or intelligence personnel. He emphasized the global trend of licensing private investigators to uphold ethical standards.
“The objectives of the bill include fraud prevention, detection, assessment and resolution; corporate fraud and risk management services; insurance fraud and claims investigation; aviation accident and loss investigation; marine loss investigation; occupational health and safety incident investigation; and witness location and bail bond defaulters etc.
“The bill defines the scope of the profession; ensures standards; provides penalty for professional negligence; prescribes offenses for operation without license and encourages industry-based training to maintain capacity.
“The bill essentially seeks to professionalise the industry and has no financial implication,” he said.
During the debate on the bill, while Senate Deputy Minority Leader Senator Olalere Oyewumi and Senator Victor Umeh expressed their support, other senators, including Adams Oshiomhole, Iya Abbas, and Mustapha Saliu, opposed it, calling it a potential tool for personal conflicts.
Sensing the general sentiment among the senators, Senate President Godswill Akpabio urged the bill’s sponsor to withdraw it for further legislative refinement, which he promptly did.
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