Senate passes endangered species bill, sends to Tinubu for assent

The senate has passed the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, 2024, and will now forward it to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

The bill, passed by the house of representatives in May 2025, strengthens Nigeria’s wildlife laws, raises penalties for offenders, and gives investigators more powers to trace financial transactions and conduct intelligence-led operations.

It also empowers judges to fast-track wildlife cases and recover assets from offenders. The legislation promotes international cooperation by aligning with global treaties and allowing the extradition of suspects.

Terseer Ugbor, deputy chairman of the house committee on environment and sponsor of the bill, described the passage as “a huge win for Nigeria”.

“This is a huge win for Nigeria, and it shows, without any doubt, that we remain committed to stamping out wildlife trafficking and protecting our unique fauna and flora,” Ugbor said.

“Stronger laws mean Nigeria’s forests and wildlife will now be protected from exploitation and criminal activities. We are proud to see this bill move forward because protecting wildlife is tantamount to safeguarding our environment and our future.”

Over the past decade, Nigeria has become a major hub for the trafficking of ivory and pangolin scales to Asian markets. The country has been linked to the smuggling of more than 30 tonnes of ivory since 2015 and over half of the pangolin scales trafficked globally between 2016 and 2019.

Environmental groups have welcomed the bill, saying it demonstrates Nigeria’s commitment to tackling organised wildlife crime.

Tunde Morakinyo, executive director of the Africa Nature Investors Foundation (ANI), said the bill aims to end Nigeria’s reputation as a transit hub for wildlife trafficking.

“This momentous day has been several years in the making. For too long, traffickers have used Nigeria as a transit country for the illegal wildlife trade, bringing endangered wildlife from all over Africa through our porous borders, ports and airports to export them illegally to Europe and Asia,” he said.

“The bill aims to halt this shameful trade which is destroying our environment and ruins Nigeria’s global reputation. We salute the Nigerian Senate for taking this bold step which will make Nigeria a global leader with one of the most progressive wildlife laws for the African continent.”

Mary Rice, executive director of the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA UK), said the legislation marks “a significant milestone for Nigeria”.

“The passing of this key piece of legislation is a significant milestone for Nigeria and a demonstration of the country’s commitment to transitioning from a hub for wildlife crime to a leader in the fight against it,” Rice said.

“Congratulations to all those who have worked tirelessly on this journey. EIA has been proud to support these efforts and will continue to support Nigeria and other countries in the region. EIA believes firmly that long-term, sustainable change is the key to tackling environmental crime, and it is imperative that this law is now implemented and used by investigators, prosecutors and the judiciary to bring wildlife traffickers and other environmental offenders to justice.”

Peter Knights, CEO of Wild Africa, urged the president to sign the bill before the UN CITES meeting on trade in endangered species in Uzbekistan in November.

“We hope the president will move quickly to sign this bill,” Knights said.

“The UN CITES meeting on trade in endangered species meets at the end of November in Uzbekistan and to have this bill enacted before then would be a tremendous feather in the President’s and country’s caps. It would show the administration’s commitment to playing a leading role in fighting wildlife crime.”

ANI, EIA UK and Wild Africa have been supporting the government’s anti-trafficking efforts with funding from the Pangolin Conservation Fund, the UK Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

EIA said the new law will be implemented through the GUARD Wildlife project, supported by the European Union.

With the senate’s approval, the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, 2024, will be transmitted to the president for assent — a move expected to strengthen Nigeria’s response to wildlife crime and habitat destruction.