The Federal Government is stepping up enforcement of maritime safety regulations and strengthening accident investigations to curb recurring boat mishaps and improve safety across Nigeria’s waterways.
Amid concerns that overlapping institutional responsibilities and delays in reporting waterway accidents could be undermining investigations and contributing to preventable deaths, the federal government has moved to tighten accountability in Nigeria’s maritime safety architecture.
To this end, the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) have opened discussions on a clearer framework for inter-agency collaboration, including a proposed protocol that would require relevant authorities to notify investigators of marine casualties within one hour.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Mrs Fatima Mahmood, called for clearly defined institutional responsibilities and a coordinated approach to maritime safety rather than agencies operating at cross-purposes.
Speaking in Abuja when she received an NSIB delegation led by its Director-General, Capt. Alex Badeh Jr., Mahmood said the ministry was undertaking a holistic review of the marine and blue economy ecosystem to ensure that agencies were properly positioned to deliver on their statutory mandates and work towards common national objectives.
According to her, the effectiveness of Nigeria’s waterways safety framework would depend not merely on the number of agencies involved but on clear lines of responsibility, particularly in maritime safety, accident investigation, regulation and enforcement.
She stressed that collaboration among agencies must be guided by relevant legal and statutory frameworks, noting that institutional ambiguity could weaken accountability when accidents occur.
However, the NSIB stated that weaknesses in the existing accident-reporting system were already affecting the quality and effectiveness of marine casualty investigations.
According to Badeh, delays in reporting accidents often leave investigators arriving at scenes after critical evidence has been tampered with, looted, washed away or destroyed by weather and water currents.
He proposed the establishment of a formal casualty notification protocol involving the ministry, NSIB and operating agencies, under which accidents would be reported within one hour.
The proposed framework, he said, would ensure that agencies and operators could be held to clearer reporting obligations while allowing investigators to reach accident scenes before vital evidence disappears.
Badeh also called for the integration of independent marine casualty investigations into national maritime policy reforms, warning that agencies with different responsibilities must not be allowed to operate without coordination.
He further clarified that while agencies, including the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) are responsible for functions such as licensing, inspections and operations, the NSIB’s role is limited to independent, no-blame safety investigations.
The emerging collaboration is expected to place greater emphasis on who is responsible for reporting accidents, preserving evidence and acting on safety recommendations—areas that could become central to improving accountability within Nigeria’s waterways safety system.
