Nigeria Breaks Records, Destroying $112 Million Worth of Seized Elephant Tusks

Nigeria destroyed 2.5 tonnes of seized elephant tusks worth over 9.9 billion naira ($11.2 million) on Tuesday to protect its declining elephant population from wildlife traffickers. In the last 30 years, Nigeria's elephant population has plummeted from around 1,500 to less than 400 due to poaching, habitat loss, and human-elephant conflict, as per conservationists.

The government is repurposing the crushed tusks to build a symbolic national park monument to highlight the significance of elephants in the ecosystem, according to Minister of State for Environment Iziaq Salako. This initiative follows the previous event in which officials in the capital Abuja destroyed four tonnes of seized pangolin scales valued at $1.4 million.

Despite a 1989 ban on the trade of ivory by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), thousands of elephants are still killed each year for their tusks.

Nigeria seizes record $54 million in pangolin parts, elephant tusks

Nigeria Customs Service

Nigeria has confiscated a record-breaking $54 million worth of pangolin parts and elephant tusks. Despite being a signatory to CITES, Nigeria is known for being a key location for gangs involved in the illegal trafficking of African wildlife parts, such as tusks and pangolin scales, to Asia, as reported by law enforcement and wildlife experts.

In recent years, the large West African nation has increased its efforts to combat smuggling by partnering with British, US, and German officials, as well as international organizations. This resulted in the country's largest seizure of illegal wildlife parts in August 2021.

Following a video posted on social media showing a soldier shooting two elephants that had wandered into farmlands, sparking outrage among citizens, officials initiated an investigation last month.

In 2022, Nigeria customs officials seized 1,613 tonnes of pangolin scales and arrested 14 people.