The rate of prosecution of wildlife and forest crime cases is low in Nigeria. This is largely due to limited coordination between relevant agencies such as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), the Police and relevant anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the territorial approach taken by some actors at the expense of strong, coordinated prosecutions. NESREA and Customs are only mandated to prosecute offences that fall under their own enabling laws and therefore cannot and should not prosecute offences that might encompass, for example, a penal code offence of forgery, money laundering offences. Accordingly, the federal prosecution authority, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF) is vital to ensuring prosecutions can utilize the full range of laws in wildlife trafficking offences.
Additionally, awareness of the relevant laws relating to such offences is low within the criminal justice sector. Therefore, in addition to involving the federal prosecution authority, sensitizing judicial authorities on the elements of wildlife crime, are crucial elements of intervention measures that will ensure the success of, and quality of wildlife crime cases adjudicated in courts.
UNODC has developed a Rapid Reference Guide (RRG) for investigators and prosecutors on wildlife crime. The RRG, developed by national authorities and in collaboration with other partners such as the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Africa Nature Investors (ANI) aims to assist the relevant authorities in the points to prove which must be established to build an evidential case against wildlife crime perpetrators.
Corruption enables wildlife and forest crime in multiple ways, and when it occurs, it can result in significant loss of revenue, opportunity costs, depletion of natural assets and the permanent loss of ecosystem services and functions for the country impacted. No criminal justice action can lead to effective results if they are not complemented by corruption prevention work.
To address the aforementioned issues, the project focuses on the following key activities: