‘Nigeria losing billions to illegal wood export’

The Nigerian Human Rights Community, (NHRC) a coalition of several civil society and human rights organisations on Tuesday expressed displeasure over the continued illegal felling of trees across the country by expatriates.

Addressing journalists at a press conference in Lagos, the Public Relations Officer for NHRC, Mr. Taiwo Adeleye said Nigeria is being blatantly ripped off its environment by a combined dubious synergy of local and international conspirators.

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The NHRC said it had identified Chinese, Koreans and Lebanese as the main actors and said their main targets are rosewood, araria, mahogany, iroko.

It noted that approximately 350,000-400,000 hectares are destroyed per year in Nigeria with these activities linked to the Chinese, Koreans and Lebanese cartels.

Adeleye said: “Our forest reserves, wood species and economic trees are being mauled down with desperation.

“These precious and inestimable forest resources will determine the livelihood of millions of Nigerians. As we speak, Nigeria is the hub to the largest illegal exportation of illegal wood in Africa.”

“In Nigeria, some of these foreigners are indiscriminate in their attacks on indigenous territories, records indicate that 96.518 square kilometres of land which is some 27% of the total forest area and some 10% of the total land area was designated as reserved by various governments in the country.

“Most of these representing some 66 percent of the forest reserves are located in the savannah area, some 20 percent of the land area are in the tropical forest zones, all in Southern Nigeria while some 4% are freshwater swamps and mangroves located by nature in the Niger Delta area.”

The Human Rights Community however called on the president, the National Assembly and the 36 state governors to ban all foreigners involved in illegal exportation of Nigeria’s precious wood resources.

It also called for the setting up of a presidential probe panel and judicial commission of inquiry in all the affected states to identify, punish and sanction all the foreign interests and their collaborators involved in this illegal business.