According to him, a unified management structure for cargo movement ensures clarity on liability and reduces complications within the supply chain.
Abiiba stressed that Nigeria currently operates under disjointed legal regimes covering sea, rail, road, and air transport, leading to confusion when resolving disputes or identifying liability for stolen or damaged goods.
He warned that the absence of a central legal framework had also created uncertainty over which court should hear multimodal transport cases.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Bankole Sodipo, stated that the challenges faced by Nigeria were not isolated, noting ongoing global efforts to create an international instrument to regulate multimodal carriage.
Sodipo said constitutional constraints and policy gaps limit Nigeria’s ability to take full advantage of multimodal systems for cargo distribution.
He added that although the government is working to involve neighbouring states in rail transport regulation, Nigeria still lacks a unified port regulatory policy, affecting multimodal implementation.
Sodipo highlighted the role of the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau, noting that in spite of its responsibilities across all transport modes, inconsistent policies weaken the overall regulatory framework.
Speaking on agency collaboration, Mrs Aderonke Adekanye, Deputy Director of Legal Services, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said achieving optimal performance in the Blue Economy requires strong cooperation among maritime and port stakeholders.
She said NIMASA works closely with the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to address ongoing challenges that demand joint action.
Adekanye maintained that fragmentation in policy should not be regarded as a deterrent, provided agencies harmonise their roles and support government directives.
She explained that NIMASA resolves multimodal-related issues through dialogue with other government agencies, ensuring that every organisation’s mandate is recognised.
On security enforcement, AIG Chinedu Oko, represented by CSP Segun Falemora, said the police played a vital role in securing transport corridors linking seaports, dry ports, pipelines and logistics hubs.
He noted that the Marine Police Unit handles escort operations, surveillance, threat assessment, and protection of critical transport infrastructure.
Oko identified three key bottlenecks, jurisdictional overlaps, funding, weak prosecution mechanisms, and logistics constraints such as limited patrol assets and port road congestion.
He advocated the creation of a specialised maritime and logistics court, or training designated judges in transport law, to ensure faster and more consistent handling of cases.
Oko recommended extending the “Legal Finish Mechanism” under the SPOMO Act to inland logistics crimes to ensure offenders face consequences.
Another panelist, Justice Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court, said the constitution needs to clearly define maritime jurisdiction, arguing that the Federal High Court should handle multimodal cases due to their complexity.
Faji described the lack of comprehensive legislation as a major challenge, forcing courts to rely on progressive interpretations to settle disputes.
He called for proper legislation to guide multimodal operations and determine court jurisdiction once such laws are enacted.
Faji also recommended closer synchronisation among federal and state judiciaries and greater reliance on arbitration and ADR to ease pressure on the courts. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
