Reps pass bill to combat wildlife trafficking in Nigeria

The House of Representatives has approved the third and final reading of the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill (2024) as part of efforts to combat illegal wildlife trafficking in Nigeria.

The proposed legislation significantly enhances Nigeria’s legal framework for tackling serious and organised wildlife crime, granting investigators expanded powers to track financial transactions and conduct intelligence-led operations.

It also empowers judges to fast-track wildlife crime cases and recover illicit assets, while aligning Nigeria’s conservation efforts with international treaties and global best practices.

“This Bill sends an unambiguously clear message that Nigeria will not tolerate the use of its borders for trafficking of illegal wildlife products, such as pangolin scales and ivory, to foreign markets,” said Terseer Ugbor, deputy chairman of the House Committee on Environment and sponsor of the bill.

“By modernising our laws, we want to ensure that future generations will continue to benefit from the ecological and economic value of our biodiversity.”

The development follows Nigeria’s reputation as a major transit hub for wildlife contraband to Asian markets.

The country has been linked to the smuggling of more than 30 tonnes of ivory since 2015, and over 50 percent of the pangolin scales seized globally between 2016 and 2019.

Conservationists and international partners have praised the House’s passage of the bill as a bold and necessary step.

The bill’s next hurdle is passage by the Senate. If approved, it will be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.