Nigerian chief arrested in Kenya for wearing bangle made of Ivory

A Nigerian, Chief Joseph Chukwulobelu, has been arrested and detained by Kenyan authorities at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi for wearing a bangle made of ivory which symbolized his status as a chief in Nigeria but against Kenyan law. Chukwulobelu traveled to Kenya dressed in his Nigerian attire as a chief

Disclosing this in a statement released today June 9th, the Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA) Garba Abari, said Kenyan laws prohibit access to ivories and has zero tolerance to wild life poaching. 

Abari revealed this while warning Nigerians to be careful of what they wear when traveling to another country.

He decried the continuous detention and possible 5-year jail term of Chief Chukwulobelu if convicted under the Kenyan law. Abari said the Nigerian Mission is working assiduously to secure his release.

Nigeria is a signatory to the 1975 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora which prohibits trade in items like ivory and rhino horn among others. ads