By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Nigerian Customs Service spokesperson Joseph Attah has explained efforts the Federal government has provided in stopping pangolin trade.
According to Attah on Friday, 3 foreign nationals were arrested and the shipment did not originate from Nigeria.
The customs service says it has taken steps to address corruption and improve its effectiveness in recent years.
He informed that officers have received training on wildlife trafficking, and are now redeployed to new posts more frequently to prevent them becoming too familiar with would-be traffickers.
“The NCS is also shifting to accepting payments electronically, to prevent illicit payments and improve efficiency.
“The NCS has also begun working with other domestic law enforcement agencies, as well as with the customs services of other countries.”
Attah said members of the World Customs Organization are encouraged to reach mutual assistance agreements. “That is an agreement that allows partner customs to provide assistance to each other by way of intelligence and whatever. To that extent, we can share intelligence with each other and that will help,” he said.
The NCS has also been working closely with the Wildlife Justice Commission, which works to combat organized crime in wildlife trafficking.
Stephen Carmody, WJC’s director of programs, told Mongabay the organization was involved in the lead-up to the most recent seizure.
Carmody said that the July seizure showed that efforts by Nigerian law enforcement were bearing fruit, but warned that the seizures did not necessarily signal a turning point in the fight against wildlife trafficking.