The interception of a large consignment of endangered and protected wildlife along the Kano-Daura corridor has raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s growing exposure to international wildlife trafficking networks, as enforcement agencies intensify efforts to prevent the country from being used as a transit route for illegally traded animals.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Kano/Jigawa Area Command, said it intercepted the consignment and arrested three suspects during an intelligence-led operation along the Kano-Daura Road.
The seizure comes against the backdrop of a series of wildlife trafficking cases recorded across Nigeria and other African countries in recent months, highlighting the increasingly transnational nature of the illegal trade.
In July, Customs operatives in Kano rescued a baby gorilla and arrested a suspected wildlife trafficker during a targeted operation in Kofar Mata. The operation, carried out by the NCS Special Wildlife Office in collaboration with conservation partners and the Kano/Jigawa Area Command, was said to have disrupted an illegal primate trafficking network.
Earlier in March and April, Customs also intercepted live pangolins being transported along the Kano-Jigawa axis, indicating that northern Nigeria’s road corridors are being used by traffickers moving protected species.
