Wildlife Traffickers Shift Operations to Port Harcourt, Enugu as EIA Uncovers Corruption.

By: Michael Mike

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a London-based environmental watchdog, has raised the alarm over the persistence of organised wildlife trafficking in West and Central Africa, warning that criminal networks continue to exploit corruption and weaknesses in law enforcement despite increased arrests and seizures.

The agency said Nigeria had become a major consolidation and export hub for illegally sourced elephant ivory and pangolin scales destined primarily for Asian markets, with traffickers adapting their operations to evade enforcement.

In its latest report, Beyond Africa: The Persistence of Wildlife Trafficking Networks in West and Central Africa, released on Thursday, EIA said six years of undercover investigations had revealed that wildlife trafficking remained a serious and organised criminal enterprise sustained by corruption across the supply chain.

The findings build on the agency’s 2020 report, which identified West and Central Africa as an epicentre of ivory and pangolin scale trafficking to Asia.

EIA’s Securing Criminal Justice Programme Lead, Justin Gosling, said warnings contained in the earlier report had not been adequately addressed, allowing trafficking networks to evolve rather than being dismantled.

“It’s unfortunate for wildlife and the countries concerned that the warnings of our 2020 report have not been heeded,” Gosling said.

He said the criminal networks had demonstrated a consistent capacity to circumvent enforcement pressure rather than be deterred by it.

The report acknowledged improvements in wildlife law enforcement in Nigeria and the wider region since 2020, including increased detection of incidents, arrests and prosecutions.

It also highlighted Nigeria’s Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, which has passed the National Assembly and is awaiting presidential assent, describing it as the most significant overhaul of the country’s wildlife protection framework in nearly four decades.

However, Gosling said increased enforcement activities had yet to translate into the dismantling of trafficking networks.

According to the report, traffickers operating in Nigeria have responded to enforcement pressure by shifting export operations from Lagos to locations such as Port Harcourt and Enugu, where they perceive enforcement presence to be weaker.

The criminals have also modified concealment techniques, used legitimate products to disguise contraband and shifted financial transactions towards bank transfers and underground banking systems amid the depreciation of the naira.

The report identified a significant gap between arrests and successful prosecutions, stating that fewer than 10 convictions were recorded among 58 wildlife crime incidents documented in Nigeria between January 2021 and February 2026.

Across West and Central Africa, the arrest-to-conviction rate stood at only 16 per cent, with enforcement efforts largely targeting low-level operatives caught in possession of illegal wildlife products.

It said corrupt officials, logistics coordinators and financial beneficiaries who sustain trafficking networks at higher levels frequently escaped prosecution.

EIA identified corruption as a structural feature of the illegal wildlife trade, alleging that bribery occurred at different stages of the supply chain, including road checkpoints, port scanning facilities and among senior officials.

The investigations reportedly uncovered cases in which a prolific trader maintained high-level contacts who arranged bribes across relevant agencies before shipments were moved.

The report also alleged that container scanners introduced at Onne Port in 2021 to improve detection were being circumvented through the bribery of officers operating the equipment.

Beyond wildlife trafficking, the agency warned that the criminal networks were increasingly connected to drug trafficking, money laundering and other financial crimes.

It said some networks were simultaneously involved in synthetic drug trafficking and illegal wildlife trade, with illicit proceeds channelled through real estate transactions and informal value transfer systems.

The agency called for a broader, multi-agency response capable of investigating financial flows and dismantling the criminal structures behind wildlife trafficking rather than concentrating mainly on seizures and arrests.

Gosling said Nigeria could not tackle the trade in isolation, noting that ivory and pangolin scales were sourced from several countries, including Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon, before being consolidated in Nigeria for export.

He called for stronger regional cooperation through joint investigations, intelligence sharing and reciprocal enforcement measures.

Despite the challenges, Gosling said there were grounds for cautious optimism, pointing to the proposed wildlife protection legislation, changing financial practices that could create new intelligence opportunities and growing recognition of the links between wildlife trafficking and other organised crimes.

He, however, warned that sustained political commitment and international support were required to reverse the trend.

“The threatened species involved cannot wait indefinitely and determined traffickers are not standing still,” he said.

The EIA said its key findings included the resilience of trafficking networks, inadequate follow-up investigations, weak transnational cooperation, low conviction rates, entrenched corruption and the growing convergence of wildlife crime with drug trafficking and money laundering.

The organisation investigates and campaigns against environmental crimes, including illegal wildlife trade, deforestation, illegal logging and pollution, using undercover investigations and advocacy to promote stronger legislation and enforcement.

Wildlife Traffickers Shift Operations to Port Harcourt, Enugu as EIA Uncovers Corruption.

Borno Safe, Stable and Ready for Investment… Zulum

Bodunrin Kayode

In the midst of about 40 prospective Investors who attended the Kano roundtable held recently in Kano, Borno State Governor Professor Babagana Zulum has declared the state quite safe for investments.

He said the state was now stable, and ready for any long or short term investments even as he urged entrepreneurs to seize the abundant opportunities present in the agriculture, livestock, fisheries, housing, and infrastructure sub sectors abundant in the state.

The Governor gave the assurance during the second private sector engagement and investment roundtable held at Tahir Guests Place in Kano during the week.

Zulum represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Babagana Mallumbe, during the roundtable, themed “Mobilising Private Capital for Durable Solutions and Sustainable Development”, attracted several potential investors from different sectors in Nigeria.

The program supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the European Union (EU), and the German Government, took place about three weeks after the “Lagos roundtable”, where Borno secured nine investment commitments accordingly.

Governor Zulum told private-sector entrepreneurs that the state was gradually shifting from the”humanitarian relief” syndrome to economic recovery, with private investment needed to create jobs and help families rebuild their livelihoods as the rehabilitation process continues.

The Governor maintained that Borno is safe, stable and open for businesses with its vantage position sitting at the nexus of the Lake Chad Basin, and serving as a natural trade corridor linking Nigeria to Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic.

Zulum credited the armed forces and other security agencies, including the volunteer comrades in arms, with the vital security gains of the state adding that Borno’s location offered business accesses to an underserved regional market with strong demand for goods and services.

The Governor identified the state’s vast arable land, livestock potential and solid mineral deposits as opportunities awaiting investment stressing that government has created the enabling environment, but the private sector should create wealth through jobs and resultant lasting prosperity.

Zulum explained that his administration so far has been investing in skills and human capital under Borno’s 25-year development plan as a long term strategy.

He stressed that the state’s vocational training centres had produced more than 3,000 graduates, while training in the health sector was also receiving special attention.

The Governor assured prospective investors that his administration would honour its commitments and support transparent public-private partnerships (PPP), particularly in housing, agriculture and other productive sectors.

“We are not here to ask for charity. We are here to present bankable, high-yield and direct investment opportunities for you. Borno is ready. Borno is bankable. We invite you to partner with a government that honours its word,” he assured.

Zulum revealed that incentives available to investors included streamlined land acquisition, infrastructure support, industrial clusters and a supportive tax framework.

Borno Economic Gateway to Over 50 million residents of late Chad

Chief Adviser to the Governor on Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG’s), Partnerships and Humanitarian Response, Dr Mairo Mandara hinted that Borno is a gateway into a regional economic system of more than 50 million people.

She maintained that Borno has moved from emergency to recovery status stressing that the task at hand now is to convert recovery into an economy which would work as a long term strategy for the people.

She hinted that participants would also receive briefings on the state’s proposed industrial park, inland dry port and bonded terminal, alongside details of the ease of doing business framework.

Borno Safe, Stable and Ready for Investment… Zulum

NDLEA Arrests Two Europe-Based Nigerians with 200 Cocaine Wraps at Abuja Airport

By: Michael Mike

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Europe-based Nigerian businessmen attempting to smuggle 3.46 kilogrammes of cocaine to Paris, France, after ingesting 200 wraps of the illicit drug, while also intercepting a woman with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway.

The two suspects, identified as Aliocus Odife and Sam Blackborn, were arrested last Wednesday, during the outward clearance of an Air France flight AF 832 from Abuja to Paris at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

The NDLEA said the suspects, who had travelled to Nigeria for holidays, were subjected to body scans which confirmed that they had ingested foreign objects suspected to be cocaine.

Odife, who claimed to live in France and work in a factory, reportedly arrived in Nigeria on October 21 for a short holiday. He subsequently admitted to ingesting 110 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.901 kilogrammes, which he excreted under observation.

His co-traveller, Blackborn, also tested positive during a body scan and admitted to swallowing 90 wraps weighing 1.559 kilogrammes. He equally excreted all the wraps under observation.

The spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday,said both consignors tested positive for cocaine, bringing the total recovered from the suspects to 200 wraps weighing 3.460 kilogrammes.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway arrested Aisha Isah at a tollgate with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition.

The agency also arrested a 68-year-old man, Ifeanyi Egwolonwu, along the Zaria-Kano Expressway at Gwargwaje, Zaria, with 2,770 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 100 ampoules of diazepam injection, 11,000 tablets of diazepam and 4,500 tablets of Exol-5.

In Kaduna State, officers raiding Tashan Banke also arrested seven suspects, including Faisal Adamu, and recovered 178.85 kilogrammes of cannabis alongside quantities of diazepam, tramadol, Exol-5 and pregabalin.

Across other states, the agency recorded further seizures of illicit drugs in a series of operations targeting trafficking networks and drug distribution points.

In Lagos, operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a Volkswagen LT 28 bus along Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja on October 25, recovering 537 kilogrammes of skunk, a strong strain of cannabis.

Another team intercepted a brown J5 bus along the Gbagada-Oshodi Expressway the same day, seizing an additional 439 kilogrammes of the substance.

In Oyo State, two suspects, Oguntona Nasiru, 46, and Soji Balogun, 47, were arrested last Thursday, while loading 554 kilogrammes of skunk into a Volvo truck along Idere Road, Igboora.

The operation was a follow-up to an earlier raid targeting a notorious drug dealer identified as Omo Oba, who escaped arrest on October 25 when NDLEA operatives seized 309.5 kilogrammes of cannabis popularly known as Ghanaian Loud, allegedly linked to him.

In Kano State, operatives raided a location in the Tsamiya area of Gezawa last Monday, recovering 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7 kilogrammes and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7 kilogrammes.

Two days later, officers stormed Dorayi area, where they arrested Ziya’ulhaq Abdullahi, 35, and Garba Muhammed, 52, with 19,250 pills of tramadol 225mg weighing 13.6 kilogrammes.

In Ondo State, four suspects, including Bassey Okon, 24; Abraham Edet, 20; and Oto Udo, 24, were arrested during a raid on cannabis farms in Ijare forest on October 25.

The operation led to the recovery of 16 bags of processed cannabis weighing 180 kilogrammes.

Similarly, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, destroyed a 1.646-hectare cannabis plantation at Eko Camp, Ilushi, Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State, last Wednesday.

The plantation was estimated to have a yield of 4,115.53 kilogrammes of cannabis.

A 50-year-old woman, Christiana Uboi, was arrested at the camp with 301 kilogrammes of processed cannabis, while another 176 kilogrammes was recovered during the operation.

In Sokoto State, operatives of the agency’s Zone 7 Command arrested a 68-year-old man, Ibrahim Ayuba, on Saturday with 236.6 kilogrammes of skunk.

The agency said its commands conducted sensitisation activities during the week in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, including Obawole Grammar School II, Ojodu, Lagos; Nsukka High School, Enugu; Government Technical College, Dorayi Babba, Kano; and Ajagbe Comprehensive High School, Iperu, Ogun State.

Commenting on the arrests and seizures, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers of the Abuja airport, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ondo, Oyo and Edo commands for their operations.

Marwa described the arrest of the two cocaine couriers at the Abuja airport as a warning to Nigerians living abroad who might believe their foreign residence could provide cover for drug trafficking.

He said officers at the country’s entry and exit points remained alert, warning that there was no hiding place for anyone willing to risk their lives and liberty by ingesting illicit drugs for financial rewards.

The NDLEA chairman also directed officers across the country to sustain the pressure on drug cartels while intensifying drug demand reduction campaigns through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation programme.

NDLEA Arrests Two Europe-Based Nigerians with 200 Cocaine Wraps at Abuja Airport