The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Area Command, has recorded another significant breakthrough in its efforts to combat wildlife trafficking with the interception of one live Pacific Ridley Sea Turtle along the Nigeria-Benin border.
The interception occurred during a routine patrol by officers along a footpath linking Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.
The officers sighted a suspicious individual carrying a sack who, upon noticing the patrol team, abandoned it and fled into a nearby bush, evading arrest despite efforts to apprehend him.
Upon examining the abandoned sack, officers discovered one live Pacific Ridley Sea Turtle, also known as the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), concealed inside.
The animal was immediately secured and kept in safe custody before being handed over to the relevant wildlife authorities for proper care, rehabilitation and eventual release into its natural habitat, in line with established conservation practices.
Wildlife trafficking remains one of the most lucrative forms of transnational organised crime globally, threatening biodiversity, destroying ecosystems, fuelling corruption and undermining national security and sustainable development.
Sea turtles, particularly the Olive Ridley species, face threats from illegal exploitation and trafficking for their meat, eggs, shells, traditional medicine and the exotic pet trade.
The Nigeria Customs Service recognises wildlife trafficking as a serious environmental crime with far-reaching consequences for present and future generations.
Nigeria is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), adopted in 1973 to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Nigeria domesticated the Convention through the Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) Act, Cap E9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which criminalises the unauthorised hunting, capture, possession, trade, importation or exportation of endangered species. In addition, the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, empowers the Service to enforce relevant laws relating to importation and exportation, including the suppression of smuggling and illicit trade in endangered species.
The Seme Customs Area Command, under the leadership of the Acting Customs Area Controller, Deputy Comptroller of Customs Norman Olisah Alumanah, has reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of the Nigeria Customs Service to protecting endangered species and enforcing relevant national and international conservation laws.
Speaking on the interception, he described the operation as a demonstration of the vigilance, discipline and professionalism of officers, stressing that the Service would not allow the nation’s borders to become corridors for wildlife trafficking.
The Acting Customs Area Controller, expressed appreciation to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and the Management of the Service for equipping the Command with enhanced logistics and operational assets to strengthen its enforcement capacity. He called on members of border communities to support the Service with credible intelligence, noting that the fight against wildlife trafficking requires collective responsibility and the cooperation of all well meaning Nigerians while warning smugglers, poachers and their collaborators to desist from the illicit trade, adding that the Command had intensified patrols, surveillance and intelligence gathering across its area of responsibility, while also emphasising plans to complement enforcement with stakeholder education and sensitisation on endangered species, their ecological importance and the legal implications of their unauthorised trade.
The Nigeria Customs Service, Seme Area Command, remains resolute in its mandate of revenue generation, suppression of smuggling, trade facilitation and border security, while sustaining its critical role in environmental protection and the preservation of Nigeria’s rich biodiversity for future generations.