On April 11, 2022, Nigeria’s Minister of State for the Environment, Hon. H.E. Sharon O. Ikeazor, launched the National Strategy to Combat Wildlife and Forest Crime in Nigeria (2022-2026). This is the first strategy of its kind in Nigeria, and Born Free USA warmly congratulates the Nigerian Government for this extremely important initiative.
Criminal Groups Have Turned Nigeria into a Wildlife Trafficking Hub
Nigeria is increasingly recognized as a major transit hub for illegally trafficked wild animals and plants. This trafficking is carried out by organized criminal groups, which use sophisticated methodologies and have access to advanced weapons and technology. These criminal groups link poachers in West Africa to consumers, buyers, and sellers in Asia, Europe, and the United States, and often are the same groups that carry out other forms of transnational organized crime, such as trafficking of drugs, weapons, and humans.
The work of these organized criminal groups in Nigeria is demonstrated by numerous significant seizures involving large volumes of illegal wildlife products. For example, in January 2021, Nigeria Customs Service at the Apapa Port uncovered a single shipment containing 2,772 elephant tusks, weighing 10,476 lb.; 162 sacks of pangolin scales weighing 11,748 lb.; 11 lb. of rhino horns; 227 lb. of skulls suspected to be of lions and other wild cats; and 76 pieces of processed timber.
Building a Coordinated Response to Wildlife Crime
Combating this illegal trade requires a coordinated and collaborative response. Born Free USA has supported capacity building initiatives for enforcement authorities in Nigeria for several years, including a Train the Trainer initiative for customs authorities in 2020. Train the Trainer programs build the capacity of in-country experts to conduct trainings without the need for outside experts.
From April 19-21, 2022, a team of experts from Born Free USA will travel to Nigeria to facilitate a workshop at which Nigerian enforcement authorities will discuss the establishment of a Wildlife Law Enforcement Task Force. This task force will be an elite unit focused solely on the implementation of the National Strategy to Combat Wildlife and Forest Crime in Nigeria (2022 – 2026). Once established, Born Free USA will then support capacity building and training of the task force.
Wildlife Trafficking Is Creating a Crisis
Illegal logging, poaching, and illicit trade cause significant, and in some cases irreversible, damage to wild animals and plants across West Africa. This devastating loss of biodiversity has numerous harmful impacts, including undermining the ability of the region to mitigate against the effects of climate change, particularly when species such as African rosewood are being felled at unsustainable rates. The region’s maritime resources are also being plundered, threatening the economies and food sources of those that rely on subsistence fisheries. Born Free USA is therefore thrilled that the Nigerian Government has recognized the importance of addressing wildlife crime through this National Strategy to Combat Wildlife and Forest Crime in Nigeria (2022-2026), and we look forward to supporting Nigeria in the implementation of the strategy.
To learn more about Born Free USA’s work countering wildlife trafficking in West Africa, please click here.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Shelley
