20 December 2023: The impact of wildlife and forest crime across the African continent is significant and far-reaching. It degrades vulnerable ecosystems already fragilized by over-exploitation and rapid urbanization as well as weakens criminal justice systems. Organized criminal networks benefit from a lack of coordinated and harmonized response and exploit loopholes to engage in wildlife trafficking and illegal logging.
The transnational and constantly evolving nature of wildlife and forest criminal networks must be disrupted and dismantled through robust and joint law enforcement operations. Collaboration improves the sharing of information and intelligence and effectively tracks the movement of illegal wildlife and forest products while contributing to seizures and prosecutions.
Since 2020, UNODC has stood with the Government of Nigeria, offering crucial support in combatting wildlife crime. “Prioritizing interagency and inter-regional cooperation and strengthening the legislative framework are indispensable tools to effectively investigate and prosecute wildlife crime perpetrators.” Folusho Ajayi Adelekan, UNODC National Programme Officer, Wildlife and Forest Crime.
Similarly, the Nigeria Customs Service has played a leading role in combatting wildlife and forest crime in Nigeria and within the continent. Just recently, the Nigeria Customs Service secured the conviction of a Guinean national for trafficking pangolin scales. Over the past year, the Service has successfully prosecuted and secured convictions in over 12 cases of wildlife trafficking, the majority of which have involved non-Nigerians.
Consequently, Nigeria convened a 2-day meeting of representatives of 35 Customs administrations across Africa to identify and strengthen avenues for joint counter-wildlife trafficking investigations and prosecutions within the African continent.
The objective of the programme is to dismantle the illicit trade and trafficking at the national and international levels of wild fauna and flora species through cooperative enforcement efforts led by Customs administrations in Africa.
This will be achieved through improved mutual understanding and practical cooperation between Customs and competent law enforcement agencies in the countries involved in wildlife in a multi-agency approach; mitigating the risks associated with illicit trafficking in wildlife; and gauging and assessing, through data collection, the magnitude and scheme of wildlife trafficking within the continent.
The programme seeks to replicate the success of Asia’s Operation Mekong Dragon (OMD) in Africa.
Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, represented by the Deputy Director, Forestry Department, speaking during the event, commended the collaborative enforcement efforts led by the customs administrations across Africa, noting that fostering collaboration and bolstering the capabilities of customs administrations can disrupt the illegal supply chains and ensure the preservation of Africa’s flora and fauna for future generations.
The Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, B. A. Adeniyi, represented by the Officer-in-Charge of the Customs Special Wildlife Office, noted that collaboration is key to successfully eradicating wildlife crime from the continent.
Representative of the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) for East and Southern Africa, affirmed that the importance of this programme is so that Africans do not end up seeing our flora and fauna in museums because they have all become extinct, due to over-exploitation and abuse by criminal networks.
Reiterating the support of the Nigeria Customs Service, the representative of the Comptroller General of Customs noted that the future and sustainability of Africa’s wildlife lies in the hands of the members of this operation and we owe it to our continent to make this programme successful.
This programme was convened with the technical support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the partnership support of the Government of Germany and the European Union.