NSIB seeks more funding, expertise to boost transport investigations

 NSIB seeks more funding, expertise to boost transport investigations

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has warned that the proposed reduction of its allocation of the Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) from six to four per cent would affect its ability to probe accidents across Nigeria’s aviation, rail, maritime and road transport sectors.

The Director-General of the Bureau, Capt. Alex Badeh Jr., raised the concern on Friday during a virtual media chat, saying adequate funding was critical to the NSIB’s expanding responsibilities.

Badeh said the Bureau has evolved from the former Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which was primarily focused on aviation, into a multimodal safety investigation agency with responsibility for accidents across several modes of transportation.

He explained that the Bureau's new mandate creates additional demands for specialised investigators, technical equipment, training and deployment of personnel to accident scenes nationwide.

He said the funding challenge has become more significant because the Bureau was currently using aviation-related funds to support investigations in other modes of transport.

Badeh, however, said the NSIB was making progress in building the expertise required for its expanded mandate, particularly in maritime investigations.

On funding, he said: "We get the lowest percentage of all the agencies and recently, I saw the bill proposing to reduce our 6% to 4%. I'm not sure what their rationality is because they're trying to increase theirs.

"This proposed reduction is going to negatively affect the NSIB. Right now, we are working on a more sustainable funding formula for the NSIB. We are talking with the NRS and the presidency to figure this out but to be frank, the proposed reduction of our allocation is going to affect us negatively."

Badeh said the appointment of maritime specialists as investigators-in-charge has improved the speed and quality of investigations, while the acquisition of maritime voyage-data software had strengthened the processing of technical evidence.

He disclosed that four maritime investigation reports were ready for release, covering incidents recorded in 2024 and 2025, but were awaiting comments from relevant stakeholders, including the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), before publication.

He, however, cited the absence of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) as a gap in maritime investigations, particularly where vessels sink in inland waterways and poor underwater visibility makes it difficult to locate and recover evidence.

He said an ROV would enable investigators to examine submerged accident sites, recover evidence and potentially support the recovery of bodies.

On manpower, Badeh said the NSIB has about 407 employees but required additional specialists in maritime, rail and road safety investigation.

He noted that the Bureau was prioritising the development of existing personnel rather than immediately embarking on large-scale recruitment.

“We need to hire for skill but in view of our cure realities, we will look inward to build capacity of our current staff before going out to open our doors to hire more people". 

He also hinted that the Bureau was currently conducting seven major accident and serious-incident investigations across aviation, rail and maritime transportation.

The seven cases include three aviation incidents, two railway incidents and two maritime accidents.

The aviation investigations involve an engine anomaly on an Arik Air Boeing 737-700 aircraft on February 11, a VMO Aero aircraft that made a roadway landing near Asaba on June 10, and an Enugu Air E170 runway excursion at Benin on July 23.

The rail investigations cover the Rigasa-Idu passenger train incident of March 16 and the Warri-Itakpe train derailment of June 8, while the maritime investigations involve the May 20 collision between MV Maersk Valparaiso and MT Lady Martina and the June 2026 Benue River boat accident.

The Benue River boat accident caimed 11 lives.

He said the investigations were aimed at establishing what happened, identifying contributing factors and issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar occurrences.

The DG said despite the challenges, the Bureau has released eight reports so far in 2026, comprising preliminary, interim and final reports involving Arik Air, Flybird, Max Air, Skypower Express, Azman Air, Caverton Helicopters, Dornier Aviation Nigeria and VMO Aero.

He said the Bureau’s priority for the remaining part of the year was to complete its seven ongoing investigations and further develop its rail and maritime capabilities.

He also said the NSIB was improving its family assistance programme, stressing that its role was to provide immediate coordination, care and longer-term support following accidents rather than determine financial compensation.