Nigeria Customs To Further Train Officers to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade and Trafficking

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate the World Wildlife day. Nigeria Customs Service Special Wildlife Office is taking another strategic step in actualizing it’s set objectives: to support global effort to end Wildlife Crime.

NCS, in its arrangements to further develop the capacity of the officers and men of the service in this subject matter, held meetings with a team of International partners and the United States International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL)
One of the outcomes of the meeting is that NCS will get further assistance particularly with training to develop expertise, in addition to the provision of modern teaching aids to boost the facilities on ground at the Customs Training College, Ikeja.

Leading the partners in an on-the-spot assessment of the facilities in the Customs Training College (CTC), on Monday, the Commandant, Compt. Haniel Hadison, told the visitors that the facility was ready to receive their support.

“We have officers willing to learn, and we the management of the college are also ready to give every support to achieve the set objectives.”

He commended the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, and the customs’ management team for their continued support to the Special Wildlife Office.

Fielding questions after the tour, Hadison said the NCS, led by the wildlife office in the celebration of United Nations World Wildlife Day (WWD) is re-strategizing and “that is why the college, being where the wildlife office of the Nigeria Customs is domiciled, is hosting our international partners and their Donors”

“We are using this opportunity also to showcase how far we have journeyed in the fight against illegal trafficking in wildlife.

“So far so good, it has been an excellent outing, and there is much for the Nigeria Customs, particularly the wildlife Office to achieve from our international partners.

“They (partners) are bringing in their expertise, technocrats, and their level of knowledge for us to tap from. Above all, it is going to be an added value, particularly as it relates to the CGC’s clarion call for capacity building.

“Recently, he particularly laid much emphasis on collaboration. Nigeria Customs cannot attain set objectives without collaborating with relevant organisations, and that is what we are experiencing at the moment.”

Speaking on the institution’s areas of need for the capacity building, Hadison stated: “Now that everything is centred around technology, we would need them (international partners) to bring in their capabilities and competencies in the use of technology in the fight against illegal activities.

“Particularly, there is a need to train our officers and men in the use of drones and other tech apparatus at the borders, airports and seaports, and even within the system, as well as the ungoverned spaces. The use of technology will help the Nigeria Customs to carry out its functions, particularly as it regards enforcement.”
Meanwhile, he warned perpetrators of illegal wildlife trade and trafficking that the agency remains opposed to such crimes.

“Everyday, our officers make arrests, and a lot of investigations and prosecutions are ongoing. They should desist from these illegal activities. There is no room for them,” he stated.

On her part, the officer in charge of the NCS Special Wildlife Office, a Counter Wildlife Crime expert and Technical Advisor: Abimbola Isafiade, commended the visit of the collaborators, stating that it means “the agency is improving as the world is improving, and it means more successes for the future.”

With their partnership, “we are going to improve on the training we have been having. Before now we’ve trained, about a fraction, now we want to embark on  training the whole of the Nigeria Customs workforce, and I know that it is very possible with the number and caliber of partners we have: The Wildlife Justice Commission,Focused Conservation,Wildlife Conservation Society and many others, we are now partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. We had a meeting about 2 months ago, where they pledged their support, and here they have come to assess the environment to see what facilities we have, to know where to step in, in terms of capacity building.

“So, the capacity building will now go far and wide; we want to train practically all  officers and men of Nigeria Customs Service and this is what this exercise has come to establish – a needs assessment.

“Then, the next is to begin the training for all officers on understanding what it takes to combat illegal wildlife trade and trafficking.”

According to her, the training is expected to begin in the next couple of months.

“We just need a few things, like the commandant has mentioned – power (for the classrooms), smart screens, which they have promised to give, and other resources to support what we have on ground.

“The Nigeria Customs Service already has the facilities, it is just about bringing them up to standard.”