The Nigerian Senate has successfully approved the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, 2024 and will now be forwarded to the President for his assent.
This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Festus Iyorah, Nigeria Representative of Wild Africa and made available to newsmen in Lagos.
Iyorah said that the Bill was passed by the House of Representatives in late May 2025.
He added that the Bill updates existing wildlife laws, increases penalties for wildlife crimes, and provides greater authority to investigators to probe financial transactions and conduct intelligence-led operations.
According to him, the bill also empowers judges to expedite wildlife cases and recover offender assets while promoting international collaboration by aligning with global treaties and allowing extradition of offenders.
He said that, in the last decade, Nigeria emerged as a major hub for the trafficking of ivory and pangolin scales to Asian markets.
He noted that Nigeria was linked to the smuggling of more than 30 tonnes of ivory since 2015 and over half of the pangolin scales trafficked globally between 2016 and 2019.
He said that environmental organisations have praised the latest development, saying that the Bill demonstrates Nigeria’s response to tackle serious and organised wildlife trafficking.
Mr Terseer Ugbor, Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Environment, the Bill’s sponsor, said:
“This is a huge win for Nigeria and shows, without any doubt, that we remain committed to stamping out wildlife trafficking and protecting our unique fauna and flora.”
(News Diary)
