The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says it is expanding its investigation scope beyond aviation in light of rising concerns about frequent transport tragedies in Nigeria, from boat accidents to road accidents and rail accidents. The bureau is training new investigators, installing data recorders on highways, promoting campaigns for the use of life jackets on waterways, among other things, according to NSIB Director of Transport Investigation, Abdullahi Babanya, in an interview with Channels Television.
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What steps can you take to stop such tragedies if you are a part of the investigation into recent boat accidents in Niger, Taraba, and other states?
Let me begin by condolences to the families of the unfortunate Shiroro boat accident (in Niger State) that occurred last Saturday. The NSIB first learned about the incident through social media, which was then followed by the media. The story then caught our attention when the mainstream media began to cover it. So we created a “go-team.” Our team arrived and went looking for details about what transpired, which you can only guess were they deployed from Abuja to Niger State and specifically Shiroro.
The boat capsized in the river after the preliminary information we had, according to the reports we received and the preliminary information we had. About 39 people, including a child, were on board the ship. Unfortunately, 13 of them passed away.
Important is to mention that all seven of the 39 passengers survived and that seven of them were wearing life vests. What does all of this mean, then? It specifies that some small but crucial steps must be taken, just make sure that everyone who board those boats is wearing personal flotation devices, or safety jackets. They will be able to survive an accident and remain submerged until rescue arrives.
Moving on to the third part of the question. We’ve been in those other areas before, yes. We have the authority to look into air accidents. The director general has been working on a multi-faceted and multi-pronged plan since the beginning of this administration to strengthen our capacity and ability to examine those additional new directions that have been added to our authority.
So we are instructing our staff members. Our laboratories are being upgraded. We will begin installing recording devices on road traffic next week or shortly thereafter. Our laboratory is expanding. A new materials science lab is also being built. We’ve located training facilities that will provide the necessary training.
We have a number of employees. They will start operating the office by September. The training requirements that they require have already been ironed out. Expertise from industry professionals was a source of strength for us. They gave us advice, and we will continue to do so in order to build the necessary capacity to conduct thorough and independent accident investigations in all modes of transportation in Nigeria.
After seeing an incident in the air, there are concerns about aviation regulation, especially. What is your response to this?
You must involve all parties involved in the system in safety management. The regulator is the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The NCAA establishes the regulations, certifies the personnel, equipment, and ensures that the aircraft’s airworthiness and other equipment are up to par with industry standards. Additionally, they have oversight functions in place to make sure that the approvals that were issued are followed along with the certifications that were issued.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), which is tasked with conducting an independent investigation of events, is on the other side. Additionally, it issues recommendations when conducting an investigation.
We now monitor compliance with those recommendations in partnership with the NCAA and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau. Sometimes, we make recommendations, and the parties follow up with them. However, you occasionally experience failure.
So we come back to those mistakes. We examine the efficacy of the recommendations. See what else can be done if the safety net needs to be adjusted or changed in some ways to expand its scope.
Everywhere there are humans involved, there will be errors, you know. And occasionally, these blunders create undesirable circumstances. You have a constant surveillance of the system because of this. You regularly check the runways, make visits to those facilities, check those facilities, and occasionally check those facilities. At the start of the year, we have a course on how to evaluate the entire system. And NSIB will look into it if something goes wrong. We make recommendations for how to make the system better following the investigation. So the operation is that.
Let’s move on to the additional avenues that NSIB’s new mandate currently covers. A document with safety recommendations for rail, marine, and road is about to be released. What would these recommendations entail when referring to rail transportation first?
The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria signed the NSIB Establishment Act of 2022, expanding its scope of its responsibilities. We must have policies, regulations, and procedures in place to conduct an incident investigation in accordance with the process.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) had always been in charge of the railroad’s operations in Nigeria prior to the NSIB Establishment Act of 2022, for instance. The NRC serves as the regulator, investigator, and operator in this case. Therefore, the NRC will conduct the investigation and provide recommendations for how to fix those issues whenever something goes wrong with the rail system’s operation.
With the establishment of NSIB, we now have an independent accident investigator who is not affiliated with the operations but is independent of the regulations. The NRC’s responsibilities in the event of an accident are set out in the NSIB Act. The NRC will be in charge of ensuring that a specific event has occurred at a specific location and that it should arrive on time. Then NSIB will create a “go-team” to visit the site, gather evidence, and then return to the office to analyze the evidence.
Stolen rail sleepers, clips, and train derailments are becoming more common. Given that some of these rail lines stretch for miles and don’t have any walls or barriers, what specific recommendations would you make?
Between security and safety, there is always a fine line. The security of the rail system is one of the main concerns we have. In addition, we must make sure that Nigeria’s rail system’s infrastructure is secured.
