Chinese nationals engaging in illegal exportation of donkeys, CSOs allege

Some civil society organisations (CSOs) say some Chinese nationals are slaughtering and exporting donkeys from Nigeria illegally. 

The CSOs — Civil Society Situation Room, Guards Against Economic Sabotage in Nigeria, Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law AND Patriotic Nigerians Against Social and Economic Injustice — raised the alarm at a press conference on Monday in Abuja.

In January, the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services warned citizens against the consumption of donkeys.

The agency said donkeys are at the risk of becoming extinct in the country, adding that “donkey slaughter, donkey trade, donkey meat, donkey hide are illegal businesses”.

Speaking on behalf of the groups, Emmanuel Onwudiwa said the alarm is raised “in defence of our territorial integrity and respect for constituted authorities”.

He accused Mohammed Abubakar, minister of agriculture, of giving “tacit approval” to the Chinese nationals to carry out the illegal act. 

“You would recall that President Muhammed Buhari had on March 21 2022, after a federal executive council (FEC) issued a directive that foreigners are not permitted to directly go into the forest and engage in direct purchase and slaughter of donkeys,” he said.

“The memorandum was duly forwarded to all the relevant stakeholders in the agro-business, including the ministry of agriculture. It is, therefore, inexcusable that the minister of agriculture, Dr Mohammed Mahmood Abubakar has continued to give tacit approval to Chinese nationals to go into the forest and deal directly in these businesses against the direct orders of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and flagrant disregard of our sovereignty.

“A minister is an appointee of the president and the interpretation act is clear that he who appoints can suspend. It is, therefore, shocking that a minister, an appointee of the president, can so brazenly go against the direct orders of the president without attracting any severe consequences.

“The continued silence of the president over this declaration of war against the directives of the president by an appointee of his is a threat to our democracy, sovereignty and rule of law. There is no doubt that more appointees seeing that no serious action is taken against recalcitrant Mahmood, will employ similar crude measures to demean the exalted office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in pursuit of selfish ends. This action of the minister also makes our sovereignty susceptible to foreign interference.”

The groups asked the national assembly to commence a thorough investigation into the allegations that bribes were collected to free the Chinese nationals arrested over the illegal act. 

“Donkey slaughter and exportation has no doubt become a juicy economic platform that is capable of injecting N60billion into the Nigerian economy by way of direct investment and is also capable of getting over N250,000 Nigerians direct and indirect employment,” Onwudiwa said. 

“This economic potential of the sector can only be fully harnessed if the sector is well regulated to serve Nigeria’s best interest. During this period when the country‘s economy is in a near meltdown, we expected the government of the day to take advantage of this economic-promising sector to make a strong case for the revitalisation of our economy and also allow it to serve as a rallying point for the mitigation of the skyrocketing unemployment rate in the country”.