In the forests of Borno State, a new and dangerous trade is quietly fueling Nigeria?s Boko problem: warthog ivory.

While elephant tusks have long dominated the illicit wildlife trade, insurgent groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP have adapted. With elephant populations dwindling and law enforcement growing more vigilant, these groups have turned to a new target?warthogs. Their tusks may be smaller, but they are abundant and easily hunted in the unpatrolled wilderness of northeastern Nigeria.

An investigation done by Humangle?s Alamin Umar shows Warthogs, are now at the center of a thriving black market that stretches from the Sambisa Forest to Asia?s ivory-hungry markets. In places like Molai and Konduga, poaching has become a reliable stream of income for insurgents, who trade warthog tusks and meat in exchange for food, weapons, and operational funding.

While the government has made strides in curbing illegal wildlife trade, like the 2024 destruction of 2.5 tonnes of elephant ivory worth nearly $10 billion, the black market remains resilient and evolving.

Terrorists in the bush, wildlife in peril

The Sambisa Forest and surrounding areas like Komala and Erwa Nature Reserve have become ground zero for this underground economy. These zones, some just a few kilometres from military bases, are poorly patrolled and riddled with abandoned settlements, creating perfect conditions for poaching to flourish.

The warthogs follow seasonal migration routes, often trailing rivers like Yedseram and Ngadda. But these paths also run through insurgent strongholds. According to Peter Ayuba, Borno State?s Director of Forestry and Wildlife, warthogs and other wildlife are increasingly crossing into Nigeria from Cameroon?s Waza National Park, only to be hunted down and traded in Nigerian markets.

This isn?t just a conservation crisis?it?s an economic and security emergency.

Markets of secrecy and survival

Walk into Molai Market or Maiduguri?s traditional medicine market, and you?ll find a dark underbelly of trade in animal parts. Among heaps of herbs and roots lie dried fox skins, bird talons, crocodile hides?and warthog tusks. Traders speak in hushed tones. Many of them are either working for Boko Haram or forced into complicity.

?Last year, the terrorists warned all hunters?anyone caught hunting warthogs would be killed,? said Lawan-Adamu, a local from Molai. ?They said the meat is haram, but the truth is, they want it for themselves. Not for religion?just profit.?

Some civilians, under duress, have become middlemen for Boko Haram or ISWAP. In places like Kawuri, residents are coerced into selling poached animals or transporting goods?rice, medications, recharge cards?into forest camps. Arrests of suspected couriers in Mafa, Guzamala, and Mandaragirau in recent years paint a picture of a well-organized logistics network feeding both the insurgency and the wildlife black market.

The broader impact

This trade doesn?t just kill animals?it erodes entire communities. Families are being split apart, farms abandoned, schools emptied. A joint UNEP?INTERPOL report found that profits from wildlife crime rarely support local economies; instead, they bankroll arms, transport, and recruitment for militant groups.

In many villages, fear rules. Hunters can?t hunt. Markets are tense. And children are dropping out of school to help families navigate this dangerous new economy.

A call for smarter enforcement

Destroying seized ivory and revising conservation laws isn?t enough. Nigeria needs targeted, intelligence-driven interventions that focus on transit points like the Ngadda River corridor and cross-border routes with Cameroon. Just as importantly, addressing demand in Asian markets is crucial to curbing the trade.

Until then, the warthog.a once-ignored creature, is paying a deadly price. And so are the people living among them. (BusinessDay)

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