The Nigeria Customs Service, Seme Area Command, intercepted live endangered species of African Grey Parrots, Green Parrots, and a hawk worth around N6,859,832.
Customs Area Controller Comptroller Timi Bomodi announced this on Wednesday.
He said that the seizure was based on reliable intelligence.
The animals were apprehended at the Gbaji checkpoint on their way to Benin Republic.
“These animals were intercepted by our officers around 4 a.m. today; we received intelligence that they were being conveyed in a luxurious bus all the way from Kaduna to Lagos, with the intention of taking them out of the country to sell,” he stated.
“As you may be aware, this is an illicit trade of endangered species, they are valued outside the country and we have individuals that are ready to go through a lot of risks to smuggle these birds.”
Bomodi reaffirmed the Nigeria Customs Service’s commitment to combating the threat of illicit trade in the country, while also noting that two individuals were apprehended in connection with the seizure.
“Part of the Nigeria Customs Service’s responsibilities as a signatory to the Convention on Illicit Trade in Endangered Species is to ensure that such trade does not continue, and we are hell-bent on ensuring that things of this nature do not circulate.”
“We already have two suspects in our custody, and the normal procedure for activating seizures of this nature with special regard to how these defendants will be treated is already in place” , he said.
Sanusi Magashi, the Controller of Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services, received the seized animals.
The animals will be temporarily protected and nurtured by the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services before being released into the national park.
