President Bola Tinubu has transmitted two bills to the Senate seeking to reform Nigeria’s drug enforcement laws and expand the investigative powers of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
The bills, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Bill 2026 and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau Amendment Bill 2026, were forwarded to the Senate in separate letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
In the letter on the NDLEA Bill, Tinubu proposed repealing the existing National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act and the Indian Hemp Act to establish a consolidated legal framework for tackling drug-related offences.
The proposed legislation seeks to strengthen enforcement against the cultivation, processing, sale, trafficking and use of illicit drugs, while empowering the agency to investigate individuals suspected of involvement in drug-related activities.
The President urged the Senate to give the bill expeditious consideration.
Following its presentation, Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further legislative action.
In a separate communication, Tinubu transmitted the NSIB Amendment Bill 2026, which seeks to strengthen the bureau’s independence and expand its investigative mandate beyond aviation accidents.
Under the proposed amendment to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (Establishment) Act 2022, the bureau’s responsibilities would extend to accidents and incidents involving rail, maritime and other modes of transportation.
The bill also seeks to transfer supervisory oversight of the bureau to the Presidency and strengthen its institutional, operational and administrative powers.
The proposed expansion comes amid renewed attention to transportation safety following the October 5 crash involving a Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft near Igbokoda in Ondo State, in which 25 people were reportedly killed.
Tinubu urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the NSIB amendment, which Akpabio also referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business.
Both bills will now undergo further legislative scrutiny, with the proposed NDLEA legislation targeting a consolidated framework for drug law enforcement and the NSIB amendment seeking to broaden independent safety investigations across Nigeria’s transportation sector.
