Senate passes landmark wildlife protection bill, awaits Tinubu’s assent

Nigeria’s Senate has passed the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, 2024, a landmark legislation aimed at curbing wildlife trafficking and strengthening environmental protection.

The bill, already approved by the House of Representatives in May, now awaits President Bola Tinubu’s assent to become law.

The new law overhauls the 1985 Endangered Species Act, introducing tougher penalties, wider investigative powers, and financial tracking mechanisms to target wildlife traffickers.

It also aligns Nigeria’s laws with global conventions such as CITES, enabling cross-border investigations and extraditions.

Terseer Ugbor, sponsor of the bill and deputy chairman of the House Committee on Environment, hailed its passage as “a huge win for Nigeria,” saying it would protect the nation’s wildlife and natural heritage.

Nigeria has faced global scrutiny for its role as a transit hub in illegal wildlife trade, with UN reports linking it to the trafficking of over 30 tonnes of ivory and millions of pangolin scales in recent years.

Environmental groups, including the Africa Nature Investors Foundation, EIA UK, and Wild Africa, praised the Senate’s move and urged swift presidential assent ahead of next month’s UN CITES meeting in Uzbekistan.

Once signed into law, the bill will empower enforcement agencies to pursue wildlife crimes more effectively and position Nigeria as a leader in conservation efforts across Africa.