The National Park Service (NPS) on Tuesday in Abuja advocated the need for wildlife conservation from extinction, with Nigeria identified as “a key transit hub and consolidation point for various forms of illegal trade in wildlife and forest products, especially for pangolin, ivory and rosewood,”

Ibrahim Goni, the conservator-general, said humanity could not exist without wildlife.

He said the 2024 Wildlife Day was celebrated to create awareness of the need to preserve wildlife, especially animals and plants, from extinction.

Mr Goni expressed optimism that the young students would, in future, make policies that would address climate change in the country when they become policymakers.

Oliver Stolpe, the country representative of UNODC in Nigeria, noted that the importance of preserving and protecting Nigeria’s rich biodiversity had some key findings from the Wildlife Chapter of UNODC’s Organised Crime Threat Assessment for Nigeria published in 2023.

“The assessment found that Nigeria is a key transit hub and consolidation point for various forms of illegal trade in wildlife and forest products, especially for pangolin, ivory and rosewood,” Mr Stolpe said.

He added, “These products are sourced both from Nigeria as well as from other countries in the region, including Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Benin Republic.”

According to UNODC’s World Wildlife Seizures Database, more than a thousand records between 2011 and 2020 indicate Nigeria as a source, transit or destination country or where the offender was a Nigerian national.

He commended the Nigeria Customs Service, pointing out that seizures at Nigeria’s land, sea and airport border points had increased, as the authorities of other countries reported two-thirds of all seizures involving Nigeria.

(NAN)