President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday transmitted two bills seeking to overhaul Nigeria’s drug enforcement framework and expand the investigative powers of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) to the Senate for consideration.
The bills, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Bill 2026 and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau Amendment Bill 2026 were forwarded to the upper chamber in separate letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The proposed legislation seeks to consolidate existing laws on drug-related offences and reposition the NSIB as an independent, multimodal safety investigation authority with jurisdiction beyond aviation accidents.
Both bills were transmitted pursuant to Section 58(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
In his letter on the NDLEA Bill, Tinubu said the proposed legislation would repeal the existing NDLEA Act and the Indian Hemp Act and establish a consolidated legal framework for combating drug-related offences.
According to the President, the bill seeks to strengthen enforcement against the cultivation, processing, sale, trafficking and use of illicit drugs, while empowering the agency to investigate persons suspected of involvement in drug-related activities.
“The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Bill 2026 seeks to repeal the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, and the Indian Hemp Act, Cap. I16, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and to enact a consolidated framework to enforce the law against the cultivation, processing, sale, trafficking and use of hard drugs,” the letter stated.
Tinubu urged the Senate to give the proposed legislation expeditious consideration.Following its presentation, Akpabio referred the NDLEA Bill to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further legislative action.
In a separate letter, the President transmitted the NSIB Amendment Bill 2026. The proposed amendment seeks to amend the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (Establishment) Act No. 35 of 2022 to strengthen the bureau’s independence and expand its mandate to cover accidents and incidents involving multiple modes of transportation.
Under the proposed changes, the bureau’s investigative responsibilities would extend beyond aviation to include rail, maritime and other transport-related occurrences.
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 aviation safety following the October 5 crash of a Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft near Igbokoda in Ondo State.
In his letter transmitting the NSIB bill, Tinubu requested the Senate’s consideration of the proposed changes and urged lawmakers to expedite action on the legislation.
Akpabio subsequently referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business for further legislative consideration.
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