The bill for the establishment of Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) Establishment Bill, 2020 has scaled second reading at the Senate.
The bill sponsored by: the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North) seeks to ensure safety in transportation was read for the first time on November 21, 2019.
Leading the debate, Abdullahi said the bill sought to establish the NSIB as an Independent Federal Government Agency which would be responsible for determining the probable cause of all transportation accidents and serious incidents.
He said the bureau would also publish findings and make the necessary recommendations to operators, regulators and general public to promote transportation safety.
Noting that only air transport had an internationally accredited accident investigations body, the Senate Leader said the upsurge in the use of railways and inland waterways necessitated the need for an independent investigative bureau.
He said, “There is a need to ensure the safety of our national transport network, and investigative research plays a vital role in this process.
“The current practice where regulators and transport operators are involved in the investigative processes in their own incidents, compromises the integrity of the investigations and does not conform to the globally recognised standards.
“To ensure efficiency and effectiveness in this pursuit, there is a need to create a unified body Which is completely independent (in its organisation, operation and decision making processes) from the transport operators, policy makers regulators, and other parties who interest could conflict with the tasks which organisation is entrusted.
“The purpose of the NSIB is to enable the segregation of investigative activities and promote safety through the conduct of transparent, independent and objective investigations in all cases of serious incidents and accidents involving any of the current modes of Transportation in Nigeria.
“It is not intended for apportioning blame, but to provide technically accurate appropriate and timely information which could be used by Transportation stakeholders to implement measures to prevent their reoccurrence, and potentially mitigate the damage caused by them.”
