Nigeria Customs Saves Four Pangolins From Smugglers

Four of the world's most endangered animals are alive today because Nigerian customs officers refused to let smugglers win.

On January 15, 2026, a patrol team intercepted a wooden boat carrying four live pangolins in wire mesh cages along Alapa Creek in Ogun State. Acting on intelligence, the officers stopped the suspicious vessel around 6:33 PM as it navigated the waterways near Ajilete community.

When the smugglers spotted the customs team, they fled into the creek and vanished into the night. They left behind their boat and the four pangolins, still trapped in cages that revealed a sophisticated trafficking operation.

The Nigeria Customs Service Federal Operations Unit Zone A moved quickly to protect the rescued animals. Deputy Comptroller Oluwaseun Oguntuase personally delivered the pangolins to the Wildlife Conservation Centre, where specialists now care for them.

Pangolins hold the tragic distinction of being the most trafficked mammals on Earth. Their scales are falsely believed to have medicinal properties in some markets, and their meat is considered a delicacy. All eight pangolin species face extinction without protection.

The Ripple Effect

This rescue represents more than four saved lives. Nigeria is a signatory to CITES, the international treaty protecting endangered species from harmful trade since 1973. Every successful interception sends a message that wildlife trafficking has consequences.

Customs Area Comptroller Gambo Aliyu praised his team's courage during the nighttime operation and renewed the unit's commitment to protecting Nigeria's biodiversity. Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi emphasized the administration's zero-tolerance approach to wildlife crime.

The officers who conducted this patrol chose to work in darkness along remote waterways to protect animals most people will never see. Their dedication proves that Nigeria's frontline defenders take conservation seriously, even when the work is dangerous and the victories seem small.

Four pangolins that would have disappeared into the illegal wildlife trade are breathing tonight because a team of professionals showed up when it mattered most.