The Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency, BAGAIA, has celebrated members of the regional body for the plausible outcomes from their cooperation, which enabled the promotion of air safety across the borders of each of the countries in the West Coast of the African region.
Capt Alex Badeh Jr., the Director General of Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, who hosted in Abuja, the 12th Commission Summit of BAGAIA, commended members for embracing collaboration by freely allowing contributions from member states towards bolstering their capacity for accident and incident investigation.
Badeh Jr. said, “Cooperation among member states is not just a goal but the foundation of our success.” He added that, “Aviation incidents transcend borders and demand seamless collaboration, and we must move as one.”
He, however, chronicled a few interventions by NSIB to fill the lacunas identified within some members, such as the recent technical support to Liberia’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and the efforts to assist Ghana in developing a flight data analysis laboratory, which Badeh Jr described as examples of how NSIB translated regional commitments into practical outcomes.
Colonel Lawrence Jarra, Commissioner of the Gambia’s Aircraft Investigation Bureau (GAIB), is the Board Chairman of the Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA).
The NSIB helmsman declared that the 12th Commission summit of the Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA), was essentially to “celebrate collective wins” by member states, as every nation’s investigation bureau had made contributions to air safety in numerous ways.
The theme of the 12th meeting held in Abuja was “Celebrating Our Collective Wins in Capacity Building and Aviation Safety Across the Banjul Accord Group (BAG) Region and Beyond”. It captured both the measurable strides taken and the pressing responsibilities that remain.
The BAGAIA Commissioner, Engr Charles Irikefe Erhueh, a Nigerian, commended NSIB’s leadership and urged member states to deepen the synergy to enable the sustenance of progress attained through the prevention of incidents and accidents in the region.
Despite identifying funding constraints, the Abuja summit unanimously agreed that continuous collaboration was not negotiable, and that members’ engagement should be more robust to further enhance the capacity of investigators in the ECOWAS sub-region.
Representing the EU-ASA/BAGAIA partnership, Mr. Yves Koning, EASA Regional Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, described the technical cooperation with BAGAIA as productive and transformative. He confirmed that although the EU-funded project supporting the agency concludes on 31 July, pathways for sustained collaboration remain open.
Giving his own tribute, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, EU-ASA/BAGAIA, representative, EASA, Mr. Yves Koning, testified that the EASA technical cooperation with BAGAIA was highly productive and transformative.
Koning disclosed that the EU-funded project supporting the agency concludes on 31st July 2025. He added that yet, pathways for sustained collaboration with BAGAIA remained open.
Gambia’s Col Lawrence Jarra Emerges BAGAIA Board Chairman
The climax of the two-day summit was the emergence of Colonel Lawrence Jarra, Commissioner of the Gambia’s Aircraft Investigation Bureau (GAIB), as the Board Chairman of the Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA).
Appointed as Vice Chairman is Engineer Jorge Manuel Rodrigues, who presently is the substantive Chairman, the Board of Directors of the Instituto de Prevenção e Investigação de Acidentes Aeronáuticos e Marítimos (IPIAAM), Cape Verde.
The appointments were announced by the BAGAIA Commissioner, Engineer Charles Irikefe Erhueh, a Nigerian.
Capt Alex Badeh Jr., Director General of Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB
Irikefe stated that establishing the board was one of the most strategic decisions made during the Abuja summit.
At the celebration in Abuja, Charles Irikefe enthused, “We now have a Board Chairman in the person of Colonel Lawrence Jarra, and a Vice Chairman in Engineer Jorge Rodrigues. This provides the structure we need for stronger policy coordination and implementation”, he said.
The new leadership constituted in the board structure is expected to strengthen ties with global aviation safety partners and bolster the region’s influence within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommended standards and practices.
The BAGAIA commissioner said with the appointment of the board Chairman, Vice Chairman, and a Secretary, a functional leadership board has been duly constituted and as such “BAGAIA is set to navigate future safety challenges with improved coordination and vision”.
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