Experts have called for amending the National Biosafety Management Agency Act to enshrine a multi-agency approach to the approval and release of genetically modified organisms in the country.

They made the call in separate interviews during a media training session on ‘Biosafety and Agroecology’, organised for journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.

A molecular biologist and public health expert, Casmir Ifeanyi, said that the act, as it currently stands, vests so much power in the NBMA that it does not protect consumers or Nigeria’s food sovereignty.

According to Mr Ifeanyi, there is no default safety, and as a result, there is no consensus on the safety of GMOs in plants and food worldwide.

Mr Ifeanyi said that verifiable data show that 22 million Nigerians, which represents 10 per cent of the population, live with one form of liver or kidney disease. He said, just like cancer, literature has linked such diseases to the consumption of highly processed food.

The executive director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nnimmo Bassey, said the deployment of GMOs in Nigeria had witnessed severe backlash due to the implications on human, animal, and environmental health and well-being.

According to him, it has also faced resistance due to the relaxed regulatory system in place, where approvals are granted without due consideration for public opinion, independent and long-term risk assessment, and proper surveillance of imported processed food in malls.

Mr Bassey said that in March 2026, the NBMA reported alleged illegal confined field trials and registration of four new transgenic cotton hybrid varieties.

These varieties are MIC 561 BGII, MIC 563 BGII, BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1001, BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1002 by the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries.

According to him, these GMOs were registered on March 26, 2026, without the NBMA’s notice and approval, as required under the NBMA Act 2015 (as amended in 2019).

Mr Bassey said that the role of media practitioners is indispensable in influencing public perception and policy debates, reinforcing dominant narratives, and creating space for diverse voices and evidence-based discussions.

The programmes director of HOMEF, Joyce Brown, recalled that in May 2024, the House of Representatives recommended a halt in approvals of GMOs and an investigation into the processes.

She said that the house organised a public hearing on the subject where scientists and researchers, CSOs, legal practitioners, farmers and other stakeholders openly rejected GMOs due to the high risks.

(NAN)