Asma’u Halilu, Kaduna
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Kaduna State has handed over a large seizure of donkey bones and skins to the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).
The Public Relations Officer of the Federal Operations Unit, Zone B, Kaduna, Chief Superintendent of Customs, Saidu Nuruddeen, said in a statement that operatives intercepted 700 bags of donkey bones and 2,500 pieces of donkey skins in separate anti-smuggling operations.
The items were handed over to Mr. Hene Emmanuel, NESREA’s Kaduna State Coordinator, during a brief ceremony.
The Comptroller, Aminu Sule, described the seizure as a major step in safeguarding Nigeria’s biodiversity.
He stressed: ”The illegal slaughter and trade of donkey parts pose grave ecological and socioeconomic threats to rural communities, where donkeys serve as a key source of livelihood and transportation.
”The Nigeria Customs Service is committed to enforcing environmental laws, protecting endangered species, and preventing Nigeria from being used as a transit point for illegal wildlife trade.
”This handover sends a clear warning to traffickers and their collaborators: Nigeria will not tolerate environmental crime.”
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Comptroller Sule further noted that the operation demonstrates the NCS’s resolve under the leadership of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, to deepen collaboration with partner agencies in line with his Three-Point Agenda of Collaboration, Consolidation, and Innovation.
He expressed appreciation to officers of the Unit and partner agencies for their dedication to protecting the nation’s natural resources.
The Comptroller called on communities, transporters, warehouse owners, and traders to support the Service by reporting suspicious activities linked to wildlife trafficking.