10-7-2025
The Nigeria Customs Service said it intercepted a container loaded with 10,300 donkey genitals along the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway.
The Comptroller-General of NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, stated this at a news conference on Thursday at the NCS Government Warehouse in Karu, Abuja.
Mr Adeniyi, represented by service’s National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, said that the move underscored the service’s commitment to protecting endangered species and preserving biodiversity.
He said, “The interception was carried out under coordinated surveillance by officers of the Special Wildlife Office (SWO) and Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU), further confirming the persistence of illegal wildlife trafficking networks in exploited Nigeria’s corridors.’’
According to him, in the past 12 months, the Special Wildlife Office uncovered and disrupted numerous illicit wildlife trafficking operations nationwide.
He said. “Noteworthy among these is the recovery of six African grey parrots and the arrest of one suspect on December 10, 2024, at Kano. The interception of two live pangolins, five mona monkeys, two tantalus monkeys, one baby baboon and an African grey parrot at Lagos Airport in May 2025. In another separate operation, there was an arrest of one suspect in the Ikom area of Cross River State linked to seizures of 213 parrot heads, six eagle heads, 128 hornbill heads, and other exotic species. The service handed over rescued tortoises to the National Park Service in Oyo State.’’
The customs boss said the service recorded several seizures of taxidermy specimens, including life-sized lions, zebra hides, gorilla parts, and pangolin scales, at various ports and along logistics routes nationwide.
He said that one of such cases involved 119.4 kilograms of pangolin scales, found in a container concealed in sacks around the Calabar area of Cross River State.
In another development, he said, 120 African grey parrots were rescued and one suspect arrested in the Fufore area of Adamawa State.
Mr Adeniyi stated that the alarming figures underscored the scale, sophistication, and profitability of the illegal wildlife trade.
The NCS, he said, considers the situation an issue of national importance not only from an ecological standpoint but also because wildlife trafficking is increasingly linked to other forms of organised crime.
He said, “This includes money laundering, arms smuggling and illicit currency flows.’’ NAN