The Seme Border Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted a lion cub and two Patas monkeys during a routine stop-and-search operation at Gbaji along the Badagry–Seme expressway in Lagos State.
In a statement released on Monday, the command’s Public Relations Officer, Isah Sulaiman, said the animals were found concealed inside a blue Mazda vehicle with registration number MUS 743 HA.
Their transport, he noted, violated Nigeria’s wildlife protection laws as well as international conventions safeguarding endangered species.
Two suspects — Mathew Kofi, a Beninese national, and Nasiru Usman Gwandu, a Nigerian — were arrested at the scene. Both men allegedly confessed to purchasing the animals in Kano and attempting to take them to the Benin Republic.
Sulaiman said the interception occurred at about 2:19 a.m. on Sunday, 16 November 2025, as part of the command’s efforts to uphold Nigeria’s commitments under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
He explained that after the animals were discovered, they were immediately confiscated for documentation, while the suspects were detained for further investigation into their role in the illegal wildlife trade.
For safety, medical assessment and proper rehabilitation, the lion cub and Patas monkeys were handed over the same day to the Greenfingers Wildlife Initiative.
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