Nigeria passes biosafety bill after long delay

Nigeria’s national assembly passed a national biosafety bill on 20 April. The legislation seeks to establish a National Biosafety Management Agency that will allow the government to monitor biotechnology applications and research.

The agency will be established under the existing National Biotechnology Development Agency, which was set up in 2001 to implement the biotechnology policy approved the same year.

NABDA’s job was to promote, coordinate and set research and development priorities in biotechnology in Nigeria. But neither the 2001 policy nor NABDA had a mandate for biosafety.