By Ajibola Adedoye
Nigeria is on the brink of a historic transformation in wildlife protection as the Senate has approved the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, 2024, marking a decisive move to combat illegal wildlife trafficking and strengthen environmental governance.
The Bill, earlier passed by the House of Representatives in May 2025, now awaits presidential assent to become law. According to a statement released by Festus Iyorah, Nigeria Representative of Wild Africa, the legislation represents one of the most comprehensive overhauls of Nigeria’s wildlife protection framework in decades.
The new law will modernize outdated wildlife statutes, raise penalties for offenders, and grant investigators enhanced powers to track financial transactions and conduct intelligence-driven operations. It also gives judges authority to fast-track wildlife cases, recover assets from offenders, and aligns Nigeria’s efforts with international treaties on wildlife crime—paving the way for cross-border cooperation and extradition of traffickers.
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For years, Nigeria has been identified as a major transit point for ivory and pangolin scale trafficking to Asian markets. Reports link the country to over 30 tonnes of smuggled ivory since 2015 and more than half of global pangolin scale trafficking between 2016 and 2019.
Environmental advocates have hailed the Senate’s decision as a powerful statement of intent.
“This is a huge win for Nigeria,” said Terseer Ugbor, Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Environment and sponsor of the Bill. “Stronger laws mean Nigeria’s forests and wildlife will now be protected from exploitation and criminal activity. Protecting wildlife is protecting our future.”
The passage of the Bill has drawn widespread praise from conservation groups across Africa and beyond.
Tunde Morakinyo, Executive Director of Africa Nature Investors (ANI) Foundation, described the moment as “several years in the making.”
“Traffickers have used Nigeria as a transit country for too long. This Bill aims to end that shameful chapter and position Nigeria as a continental leader in wildlife conservation,” he said.
Mary Rice, Executive Director of Environmental Investigation Agency UK (EIA UK), called it “a milestone demonstrating Nigeria’s shift from being a wildlife crime hub to becoming a global leader in the fight against it.”
She urged swift implementation, noting that the law’s success will depend on its use by investigators, prosecutors, and the judiciary to bring traffickers to justice.
Peter Knights, CEO of Wild Africa, expressed hope that the President will sign the Bill before the upcoming UN CITES meeting in Uzbekistan, saying such a move would showcase Nigeria’s commitment to global wildlife protection.
Collaborative Effort Backed by International Partners
The Bill’s passage follows years of collaboration between Nigerian authorities and global conservation partners, including Africa Nature Investors (ANI), EIA UK, and Wild Africa, with support from organizations such as the Pangolin Conservation Fund, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, and the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Implementation will also receive support from Project GUARD Wildlife, funded by the European Union.
With Senate approval secured, the Bill now moves to the President’s desk — a final step toward ushering in a new era of wildlife protection and environmental justice in Nigeria.
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