Court Jails 2 Men For Wildlife Trafficking, Sale Of Gorilla

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced two men, Lamin Muhammad and Ibrahim Muhammad, to five years in prison for conspiracy, unlawful possession, and sale of a gorilla.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa handed down the verdict after he found the convicts guilty of a three-count charge of wildlife trafficking brought against them by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

The convicts were arrested by the Customs’ Focus Conservation team sometimes in August 2023 in the Agege area of the state while attempting to sell the gorilla.

The prosecution had claimed that the offences contradict Section 516 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, as well as Sections 5(1) and 7(3) of the Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) (Amendment) Act, 2016.

Based on the pleas of the convicts, the prosecutor pointed out the severity of the offences and urged the court to order the forfeiture of the gorilla to the federal government.

However, the defence lawyer, Bala Buhari, urged the court to consider that his clients were first-time offenders who did not realise the seriousness of their actions.

While praying to the court for a non-custodial sentence or a fine instead of jail time, he informed the court that his clients were now remorseful and have promised not to engage in criminal activities in the future.

In his judgment, Justice Lewis-Allagoa held that the prosecution had proven its case against the two men beyond a reasonable doubt, resulting in their conviction.

But taking into account the lawyer’s arguments and the prosecutors’ request, Justice Lewis-Allagoa sentenced each convict to 12 months’ imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.

The judge also ordered each convict to pay a fine of N500,000 for each count.

The recovered gorilla was also ordered to be forfeited to the Nigerian government.