• Poaching
• Sambisa
• Warthog Tusks

WILDLIFE BLACK MARKET FUELING BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY IN NIGERIA

• 

  CapitalTimesNews / 2 weeks
• 0
• 2 min read

A new investigation has revealed that Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgents in Nigeria are now targeting warthogs for their ivory, which is being traded on the black market to fund their operations. The warthog ivory trade has become a lucrative business, with the Sambisa Forest and surrounding areas becoming ground zero for this underground economy. According to Peter Ayuba, Borno State’s Director of Forestry and Wildlife, warthogs and other wildlife are increasingly crossing into Nigeria from Cameroon’s Waza National Park, only to be hunted down and traded in Nigerian markets. “This isn’t just a conservation crisis—it’s an economic and security emergency,” Ayuba said. The trade in warthog ivory is not only killing animals but also eroding entire communities. Families are being split apart, farms abandoned, and schools emptied. A joint UNEP–INTERPOL report found that profits from wildlife crime rarely support local economies; instead, they bankroll arms, transport, and recruitment for militant groups. In places like Molai and Konduga, poaching has become a reliable stream of income for insurgents, who trade warthog tusks and meat in exchange for food, weapons, and operational funding. “Last year, the terrorists warned all hunters—anyone caught hunting warthogs would be killed,” said Lawan-Adamu, a local from Molai. “They said the meat is haram, but the truth is, they want it for themselves. Not for religion—just profit.” The government has made strides in curbing illegal wildlife trade, including the destruction of 2.5 tonnes of elephant ivory worth nearly $10 billion in 2024. However, the black market remains resilient and evolving, with traders speaking in hushed tones and many of them either working for Boko Haram or forced into complicity. To address this crisis, Nigeria needs targeted, intelligence-driven interventions that focus on transit points like the Ngadda River corridor and cross-border routes with Cameroon. Additionally, addressing demand in Asian markets is crucial to curbing the trade. Until then, the warthog, once an ignored creature, is paying a deadly price, and so are the people living among them.