Endangered Species: Court Jails Man For Illegal Sale Of Pangolin Scales

For engaging in the illegal sale of pangolin scales, Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a middle-aged man, Steven Chinonso, to prison.

Chinonso, also known as Chukwunonso Stephen Obunadike, was jailed for three years by Justice Bogoro after pleading guilty to a three-count charge of conspiracy, illegal possession, and sale of 3,761.1 kilograms of pangolin scales.

The convict was charged before the court alongside two others, Mbah James and Chinedu Christopher, by operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) last year. His co-defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.