The Senate Wednesday stood down bill seeking for operation and licencing of private investigators in Nigeria.
They rejected the legislation titled : “Bill for an Act to prescribe Standard and Condition of Licence for operation and practice of Private Investigations in Nigeria.”
The bill tore Senators apart during debate , with majority of them , kicking against it.
In his lead debate on the bill, the Senate Minority Leader , Senator Osita Ngwu (PDP Enugu West ), who sponsored it , said the bill seeks amongst others to provide a framework for the licencing and practice of private investigators in the country.
It also seeks to provide for a ‘ System of regulation, control and conduct of the practice so as to maintain professional standards.”
He said the practice of private investigators is well established in countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Canada. While some private investigators are former law enforcement agents, others are former military and intelligence personnel.
The modern trend across the globe, he added, is the need to have them licenced so as to maintain ethical standards.
The objectives of the bill includes: 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, witness location and bail bond defaulters etc.
“The bill defines the scope of the profession, ensures standards, provides penalty for professional negligence, prescribes offences for operation without licence and encourage industry based training to maintain capacity.
“The bill essentially seeks to professionalise the industry and has no financial implication,” he said.
