Senate bill scraps AIB, proposes agency for transport accidents

The Senate has introduced a new bill that will establish a new agency to investigate causes of air, road, rail and water accidents in Nigeria.

The proposed legislation passed second reading on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.

The bill titled: ‘The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (Establishment) Bill, 2020’, was sponsored by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi.

Abdullahi said the NSIB, when established, would be an independent Federal Government agency.

He said it would be responsible for determining the probable causes of all transport accidents and serious incidents.

Abdullahi noted that the Accident Investigation Bureau was doing a similar thing in the aviation sector, but added that such an assignment should be handled by an independent agency without operators’ interference.

He said, “The current practice where regulators and transport operators are involved in the investigative processes of their own incidents compromises the integrity of the investigations and does not conform to the globally recognised standard.

“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 transport in Nigeria.”

Abdullahi added that the proposed bureau would publish its findings and make necessary recommendations to operators, regulators and the general public to promote transport safety.

The Senate Leader said recent happenings had seen the development of (and return to) railways, and an increase in the use of inland waterways as alternate methods of transportation.

He said, “The undesirable risks associated with all modes of transport include the occurrence of accidents and incidents which may endanger lives and damage property.

“It is, therefore, incumbent upon the state to ensure user safety and provide the appropriate framework by which any safety deficiencies in our transport network system can be thoroughly, objectively and independently investigated with a view to preventing recurrence.”