A civil society organisation, Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER), has raised the alarm over what it describes as a “grave illegality” in the leadership of Nigeria’s biosafety regulatory framework, questioning the qualifications of the recently appointed Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA).
CASER said the biosafety sector has effectively “gone comatose” following the Federal Government’s appointment of Bello Bawa Bwari as Director-General of the agency, alleging that he does not possess the minimum academic qualification required by law.
Investigations by Everyday.ng reveal that Bwari, who was appointed nearly three months ago, is a lawyer from Niger State and is known to have a strong interest in environmental matters. However, CASER insists that this does not meet the statutory requirements for the position.
In a statement signed by its Founder and Executive Director, Frank Tietie, Esq., the group cited Section 5 of the National Biosafety Management Agency Act, 2015, which mandates that the Director-General of the agency “shall be a holder of at least a Master’s Degree in biological sciences or other related field.”
According to CASER, in the statement from Abuja and signed by Frank Tietie, Esq., Founder and Executive Director of CASER,
the provision is “clear, categorical and mandatory,” leaving no discretion to the appointing authority. The group stressed that the use of the word “shall” makes the qualification a condition precedent for a valid appointment.
“By appointing a person who does not meet this statutory requirement, the Federal Government has acted ultra vires the NBMA Act,” CASER said, adding that the appointment is “illegal, null and void, and incapable of conferring lawful authority on the occupant of the office.”
The organisation warned that biosafety regulation is a highly specialised, science-driven function involving genetically modified organisms, environmental risk assessment, public health protection, food safety and Nigeria’s international obligations under global biosafety regimes.
“To entrust such a sensitive national responsibility to a person lacking the requisite grounding in biological sciences is to fundamentally undermine the very purpose of the NBMA Act,” the statement read.
CASER further argued that the alleged illegality taints every approval, licence, permit, clearance or regulatory action taken by the agency under the current leadership, rendering them open to serious legal challenge.
“In law, one cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand,” the group said, insisting that approvals issued under the present circumstances cannot be said to enjoy legitimacy.
The group warned that the situation exposes Nigeria to significant environmental and public health risks, undermines investor confidence and regulatory certainty, weakens the country’s credibility in international biosafety governance, and invites avoidable litigation that could invalidate critical regulatory decisions.
CASER called on the Federal Government to immediately rectify the situation by appointing a Director-General who strictly meets the qualifications prescribed by the NBMA Act.
“Biosafety is too important to be politicised or trivialised. Compliance with the law is not optional,” the group stated, reaffirming its commitment to defending public interest, environmental safety and the supremacy of the law in Nigeria.
