ONSA, Agencies Back NSIB to Investigate All Transport Accidents

The federal government’s framework for repositioning the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), as an independent multimodal accident investigation agency received strong backing from key stakeholders across Nigeria’s aviation, maritime, rail, road transportation, and security sectors, with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) leading calls for stronger coordination between transportation safety oversight and national security response mechanisms.

They gave their backing at a high-level stakeholder engagement, convened at the Joint Intelligence Board Hall of the ONSA, brought together senior government officials, transport regulators, emergency response agencies, and security institutions to chart the way forward for the implementation of the new reporting structure approved by President Bola Tinubu in March 2026.

The meeting was chaired by the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, while Hadiza Bala Usman, special adviser to the president on policy and coordination and head of the Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit, served as co-chairperson.

Under the new arrangement, the NSIB will now report directly to the presidency through the ONSA, ending its previous supervisory alignment with the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

In his address, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu said the presidency approved the reform to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks, strengthen investigative neutrality, and establish a more coordinated national transportation safety framework.

According to him, the ONSA would provide institutional coordination and oversight support, particularly in situations where investigations involve systemic failures or operational lapses connected to sectoral agencies themselves.

Speaking during the engagement, director general of the NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., described the transition to the presidency as a major institutional development that would strengthen investigative transparency, operational independence, and inter-agency collaboration.

According to him,
“Our responsibility remains preventive, not punitive. The Bureau determines probable causes of accidents, identifies systemic safety gaps, and issues recommendations aimed at preventing future occurrences. We do not regulate, prosecute, or apportion blame.”

He added that the new framework would improve occurrence notification timelines, evidence preservation, and coordinated response during investigations involving multiple authorities or incidents with wider national security implications.

Badeh also referenced operational challenges encountered during previous investigations, including delays in data access and jurisdictional overlaps during transport occurrence investigations in late 2025 and early 2026, noting that the new reporting structure would significantly reduce such constraints.