(Posted 04th June 2024)
Courtesy of African Elephant News / Stenews and Paul Omorogbe, Nigerian Tribune
CONSERVATION initiatives in Nigeria, according to studies, have been underway for more than a century, beginning with forestry conservation and the establishment of game reserves by colonial authorities. Nigeria signed the London Convention in 1933, promising to protect its natural resources and environment. However, new surveys by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) show that Nigeria’s wildlife is growing endangered due to poaching, overhunting, and habitat destruction.
A United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report confirmed that in the last 10 years, Nigeria has seen a marked rise in illegal wildlife trade. The report, “Organised Crime in Nigeria: A Threat Assessment,” found the involvement of Nigeria being a country of origin or transit for the trafficking of several wildlife specimens, such as pangolin scales, elephant ivory and rosewood.
The Nigeria Customs Service has made seizures recently and over the past couple of years, that support these findings. The UNODC says that illegal wildlife trade poses a severe threat to Nigeria’s already vulnerable species and its rich biodiversity and ecosystem.
Animals under attack
The total number of species that are at risk in Nigeria is not known. However there are certain species that are known to be endangered. The big five species – lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos, and buffaloes are the worst hit. According to Wild Aid Africa, rhinos and buffaloes are locally extinct in Nigeria, which means they can’t be found anywhere in Nigeria because they have been hunted, poached, and killed in Nigeria.
In the past, hundreds of lions roamed the savannah region of northern Nigeria. However, there are less than 50 lions in the region, and they are hiding deep inside Yankari Games Reserves and Kainji Lake National Park due attacks from poachers and hunters.
