The Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) is one of the biggest illegal trades in the world and is worth over £15 billion annually. It is often perpetuated by organised criminal organisations which are also involved in the illegal trade of drugs, arms, and even people. Unfortunately, Nigeria has become one of the epicentres for IWT in Africa, partly due to insufficient legislation but also because of weak government enforcement capacity and a lack of training, equipment, and prevention incentives.  This means illegal criminal networks across West and Central Africa use Nigeria as a transit point from which to export wildlife products such as ivory, pangolin scales, and rosewood to the rest of the world.

Recognizing the issues facing Nigeria, ANI began a programme to reduce the amount of illegal wildlife products traded in the country and raise the awareness of Nigerians to the damaging industry. We have a strategic partnership with the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) to engage the Nigerian Government and reform national policy to tackle the Illegal Wildlife Trade.