The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday gave ruling in favour of the National Environmental Standards Regulations and Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in a case brought against the agency by Petfaith International Ltd.
NESREA had confiscated ivory work displayed by the plaintiff in her shops at Transcorp Hilton, and Arts and Crafts Village in Abuja as prohibited items of species classified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
According to a statement signed by Mr Sule Oyofo, Chief Press Secretary of the agency, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),? the court dismissed the case due to the preliminary objection filed by Mr Bola Odugbesan, the legal adviser of the agency.
Odugbesan said that the action of the plaintiff was a `statute barred' as NESREA has its protection under Public Officers Protection Act.
“NASREA has been in the forefront of the campaign for the protection of the country’s endangered species.
“Efforts of the agency has led to the lifting of the trade ban imposed on Nigeria in 2005 by Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES)’’, the statement said.
It noted that the agency in collaboration with the Nigerian Customs Service, had also been apprehending persons attempting to import into Nigeria and export carved and raw ivory.
A similar case is ongoing at the Federal High Court, Lagos with another Chinese national, the statement added. (NAN)
?