Minister of National Security Marvin Dames said the government disbanded the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) last month because it was established without proper legislation.

“When you establish an agency like this, all within the law enforcement community there should be a clear mandate as to what the unit function ought to be because it is a national intelligence agency,” Dames explained yesterday before attending the weekly Cabinet meeting.

The minister of national security added that NIA seemed isolated from the law enforcement body and not functioning like an intelligence agency.

While in opposition, the Free National Movement raised a laundry list of concerns about the illegality of NIA.

Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis called the NIA an “illegal government programme.”

It is alleged that the then government monitored text messages, phone calls and emails of civilians.

However, Dames emphasized that the government will enact legislation that will “establish a fully functional and autonomous national intelligence agency” as it is a key “plank in our crime fight.”

Back in March of this year, Dames said the NIA would play a huge role in curbing the growing murder rate in “crime hot spots.”

Former Minister of National Security Keith Bell claimed the Christie administration created the NIA after a number of serious terrorist-like threats in the Bahamas.