The Presidency, through the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), is working on a flexible funding arrangement to support the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) in carrying out accident investigations across the country.

The development followed the failure of some maritime agencies and the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) to remit three per cent of their revenues to the NSIB to support accident investigations in their respective domains.

The Director-General of NSIB, Capt. Alex Badeh Jnr., disclosed this on yesterday during a virtual press conference in Abuja saying the funding shortfall had significantly affected the bureau’s operations, forcing it to operate under persistent budget constraints.

“There are lots of training that we should be doing but can’t be done, and a lot of equipment that we should procure, we can’t procure,” Badeh said.

He said the bureau currently lacked a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which is critical for investigating maritime accidents, particularly incidents involving vessels that sink. According to him, an ROV would enable divers to see clearly underwater and assist investigators in retrieving evidence and, where possible, bodies from accident sites.

“Whenever a boat sinks, we don’t have an ROV. And if you look at our waters in our inland waterways, they are very brackish,” he said.

Badeh said increased funding from the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) would significantly improve the bureau’s capacity to investigate maritime accidents.

He, however, expressed optimism that the intervention by the Presidency would resolve the funding challenges in the coming days.

The NSIB boss also warned that the proposed reduction of the Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) from six per cent to four per cent could affect the bureau’s ability to effectively discharge its expanding multimodal transport safety investigation mandate.

According to him, the bureau’s responsibilities have expanded significantly beyond aviation accident investigations to include rail and maritime incidents, requiring increased funding, specialised equipment, technical expertise and deployment of investigators across the country.

Despite the funding challenges, Badeh said the NSIB was currently handling seven major accident and serious-incident investigations across the aviation, rail and maritime sectors.

On the recent case involving Air Peace crew members who tested positive for substances, Badeh clarified that the bureau never stated that the pilots were drunk.

He said preliminary findings showed that one of the crew members tested positive for ethyl glucuronide (EtG), a metabolite of alcohol, which could indicate recent alcohol consumption. “We never said they were drunk and another crew member tested positive for THC.

Badeh said the bureau’s responsibility was to establish facts relating to safety and not to target or bring down any airline. He dismissed allegations that the bureau was targeting Air Peace, saying its investigations were conducted objectively and without bias.

“We are here to be apolitical and unbiased. So as far as I’m concerned, we were unbiased because we drew blood, it was urine and blood,” he said.

He said further investigations into the matter had been left to the appropriate authorities, adding that the NSIB was also working to acquire breathalysers and certified testing kits to enable investigators conduct preliminary tests at accident sites before sending samples to laboratories.

Badeh also disclosed that the bureau had four maritime accident reports ready for release, pending comments from relevant stakeholders.

He said the reports covered incidents that occurred in 2024 and 2025, adding that the bureau had strengthened its maritime investigation capacity following the recruitment and deployment of specialised maritime investigators.

According to him, the bureau previously relied heavily on aviation personnel to conduct maritime investigations, but the situation had improved with the introduction of specialised personnel and equipment. He said the bureau was also working closely with the NRC and rail consultants to strengthen its capacity for rail accident investigations.

On staff strength, Badeh said the NSIB had about 407 employees but still required more specialised personnel.

He, however, said indiscriminate recruitment could undermine the bureau’s effectiveness, noting that the agency needed people with the requisite technical skills rather than simply increasing its workforce. He said the bureau was focusing on upskilling existing staff before embarking on further recruitment. (The Guardian)

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