Wild Africa has urged both the Nigerian government and the general public to protect the world’s most trafficked mammal from extinction, the pangolin, and support ongoing efforts to update national wildlife legislation to help combat wildlife trafficking.
In a statement to mark 2025 World Pangolin Day, Wild Africa’s West Africa spokesperson, Dr Mark Ofua, urged the Nigerian public to join the fight against poaching by reporting illegal wildlife trade and supporting local conservation projects. He said pangolins remain underappreciated, and under-protected and are in urgent need of global attention and support.
Ofua said although pangolins are protected by both national and international laws, including the 2016 ban on international commercial trade, high demand for their scales—used in ‘traditional medicine,’ especially in Asia—and their meat, eaten as a delicacy, is driving them to extinction. He said Nigeria has emerged as a global export hub and a prominent player in the supply of pangolin scales primarily to Asia. It was linked to 55 per cent of pangolin scales seized globally between 2016 and 2019.
He said: “It is not too late to change the narrative and move Nigeria from its current status as a major trafficking hub to become one of Africa’s strongest protectors of pangolins and it is our collective responsibility to achieve this task.
“No action is too small when it comes to protecting pangolins, and we must all work together to discourage illegal bushmeat trade and support new laws to combat wildlife trafficking.”
