‘Some people will die’: Conversations with Nigeria’s gorilla hunters

On a night in 1997, Benjamin Dauda killed a gorilla for the first time. Shrouding his lanky frame in dark fog, he stalked a foraging troop, finally dispatching his bullet on his mark. It was a giant male, he says, struck in the chest.

“When I came close to the dead body, it was exactly like a human being. The only difference is that we humans dress in clothes but gorillas wear fur,” Dauda tells Mongabay. “I was scared to touch it. I was shivering.”

Dauda, 52, hails from Sunkuru, a community of clans settled in the northeastern Nigerian state of Taraba. He apprenticed under his father, who was himself a renowned hunter in his time. For Dauda and many of his peers, hunting was a path to both survival and fame, passed on as a heritage between generations.

But an uneasy hurdle lay on his path to heroism and heritage: centuries-old totems and taboos forbidding the killing of apes.

Months after the death of his father and sponsor, when unpaid tuition put him on the verge of dropping out of high school, he took up his father’s gun and turned to the forbidden act.

“I had to kill it [the gorilla] because of money,” Dauda tells Mongabay. “It is a terrible thing to do, but I had to do it because there was no option.”

Yet, once Dauda ’s appetite for gorilla money was kindled, there was no going back. He says he killed more than 10 gorillas until his career as an ape hunter came to a halt in 2013, when he was ceremonially crowned as the chief of the Ndola-speaking people of Ngada, an exalted position unsuited to hunting practices.

Spiritual motives

While demand for animal protein and hides remain at the heart of wildlife hunting in Nigeria, the trade in ape body parts is driven by more spiritual motives. Traditional beliefs in the powers of ape parts still hold sway across Nigeria. Adherents, including 58-year-old Okoro Uwakwe, claim to maintain a connection with ancestral spirits through rites powered by wild animal parts.

Okoro, who hails from Umu-Ogbuagu in southeastern Nigeria’s Enugu state, is famed for his deep mastery of the ape body part crafts, charms and rituals. The oral history of his clan equates gorillas to humans, holding on to myths, lore and legends that imbue apes with supernatural and magical powers. Gorillas, Uwakwe said, became ostracized from human society because of incest.

For decades, Uwakwe says, he applied charms and medicines made from ape body parts to heal various illnesses and conditions, including strokes and convulsion, to aid childbirth, neutralize poisoning and deter marital infidelity. “There is a lot that can be done with gorilla parts in traditional medicine,” Uwakwe tells Mongabay.

While all ape parts are said to serve various purposes, the most valued are often the head and the left hand. The latter is thought to be “full of power and magic. It harbors the full strength of the gorilla,” according to a seer who lives near Uwakwe.

“If ape body parts are available, it would be the first choice item for making a lot of strong charms and amulets,” Uwakwe says. “Ape heads can be exchanged for the life of someone who is sick to the point of death. We have started using apes as a substitute for human sacrifices many centuries ago.”

According to oral traditions recounted to Mongabay by several elders, rituals to mark heroic moments in the life of or death of warriors or kings once relied on human parts and blood. Gorilla or chimpanzee body parts, they said, now serve as equivalents in cultures where such rites and rituals persist.

In reincarnation, for example, ape body parts are believed to reform and make way for the safe return of the soul, while warding off evil from the living. Rituals for wealth and fortune, popularly known as blood money, might require fortification from ape body parts.

Today, as new investors finance supply chains and new technologies, and target wider regional markets, the hunting and trading of ape body parts has become increasingly commercialized. Evidence from previous Mongabay investigations suggest stronger cross-border trafficking activities as networks grow sophisticated and clandestine, and as ape populations grow ever scarcer.

Medicine men interviewed by Mongabay even speculate that a perceived rise in ritual killing and organ harvesting in parts of Nigeria could reflect a return to human parts rituals that were once overtaken by ape parts.

Vanishing apes

The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli), whose fragmented habitats straddle the Nigeria-Cameroon border, remains one of the rarest great ape subspecies, with an estimated population of just 200 to 300 individuals. An estimated three are killed by hunters each year, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority — a devastating toll for such a small population.

But Mongabay’s interviews with hunters and traffickers suggest the toll wrought by Nigeria’s gorilla hunters might be much higher. Though Taraba state isn’t officially documented as hosting any gorilla habitat, most hunters, traders and traffickers point to it as a hub for hunting and trading gorilla and chimpanzee parts, while sharing vivid individual experiences.

These accounts aren’t easily dismissed as sources conflating apes with monkeys. Hunters and traffickers clearly distinguish them from other primates, and gorillas from chimpanzees, citing differences in behavior, appearance and spiritual potency.

Gorillas are seen as all-around powerful, with everything from their fur to their intestines valued spiritually and herbally. Traffickers say gorilla heads or equivalent parts, for example, cost 10 times more than those from a chimp, and have become far scarcer in recent years.

Conservationists working in Taraba point to a few theories that could support the hunters’ claim. One of them is the proximity of their hunting grounds to forest areas in Cameroon known to be inhabited by gorillas, and to forested border zones that can be traversed by wildlife and hunters alike. Gashaka-Gumti National Park, partly in Taraba, borders Cameroon’s Tchabal Mbabo forests and is separated by just a few kilometers from Faro National Park, both of which are habitats for western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla).

Though more widespread than Cross River gorillas, western lowland gorillas are also listed as critically endangered due to hunting, habitat loss and disease.

Chimpanzees are also in a serious decline. The IUCN estimates that the total population of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) now numbers fewer than 9,000, and likely fewer than 6,000. About half are found in Nigeria, where the IUCN describes hunting for bushmeat and body parts as the single greatest threat facing the species.

Gorilla burials, taboo

In Dauda’s Ngada and some nearby rural communities, retired and active hunters still receive orders from traffickers to hunt apes, even as totems stand in the way.

After the night Dauda killed his first gorilla, he says he was treated by some relatives as an outcast, excluded from sharing their meals.

Though repercussions for killing apes aren’t uniform across communities, taboos are widespread in the region. In certain communities, ape hunters are believed to die or face illnesses that leave them with lifetime deformities.

There are cases, reportedly, of madness and family expulsion. “When a hunter kills a gorilla, our people are not happy about it,” Dauda tells Mongabay. “They would see you as an abomination.”

Ezekiel Lamba, 37, also a native of Sunkuru, tells Mongabay that he was lured last year into killing a gorilla against his own personal and cultural convictions, convinced by a friend’s case for the money to be made from a gorilla carcass.

“When I shot at the gorilla’s thigh, the troop scattered. The shot gorilla limped away with a gunshot wound,” Lamba tells Mongabay. “I followed the blood trail on the leaves, caught up with the wounded gorilla and killed it with two more gunshots to the chest.”

When he arrived home with the news, the pushback from his family was fierce. They ordered him to bury the gorilla in the forest, he says, with help from older relatives.

“I knew it is prohibited in my culture to kill gorillas,” Lamba tells Mongabay. “But I assumed my people would accept it because of the big money involved. ”

After burying the gorilla carcass, the medicine men placed Lamba on a seven-day purifying ritual, which required bathing with herbal waters as well as inhaling the scents of special herbs as they roasted on the hearth.

After the rites were completed, Lamba was deemed to be spiritually restored. However, stories abound of hunters who weren’t so lucky. Lamba’s grandfather was one of them.

Many decades ago, before Lamba was born, he says, his grandfather became terribly ill after killing a gorilla. When he died, medicine men and the family attributed it to a violated taboo.

Hunters referenced several examples of deaths, illnesses, misfortunes and tragedies tied to killing apes, including those that befell the perpetrator directly or their friends, families or relatives.

Emmanuel Sambo, who began hunting 10 years ago, says he avoids apes completely. Two months earlier, however, one of his younger cousins killed a gorilla, throwing the family into crisis. That night, Sambo says, his cousin lost his speech. He underwent a 10-day intensive ritual to recover, until which he communicated in signs, gestures and nods.

“Our people believe that anyone who kills a gorilla must face some problems. Some people will die. Some people will run mad. And some will suffer from illness for a long time or even the rest of their lives,” Sambo says. “We believe gorillas have some mysteries.”

These myths remain deeply influential, and can stimulate the observation of totems that support Indigenous conservation practices. However, the spiritual power of gorillas can also sometimes drive ambitious hunters to seek fame by surviving the dangers associated with killing a potent, mystical animal. In some communities, those who overcome this fear and peril are celebrated for having bravery, potent charms or divine providence.

Years ago, Uba Galadima, a hunter at Sunkuru-Gada, also in Taraba state, received a heroic reception for surviving a gorilla hunt. Through the years, Galadima says he killed five gorillas, earning fame for surviving the spell of the gods. “Anyone who is able to survive after killing a gorilla, we usually organize a celebration in honor of the person’s bravery,” Galadima tells Mongabay by phone.

As part of celebrations, Galadima was dressed in distinguished traditional regalia, endorsed to mentor hunting apprentices, and crowned the Sarikin Barka, which translates into King of Arrow. Meals, drinks and merriment abounded, and guest hunters from nearby communities were invited to share in the festivities and exchange hunting armlets. 

From taboo to trading

In the 1970s, following the end of a three-year secessionist civil war, migrants from southeastern Nigeria began settling in the northeastern part of the country, including Sunkuru. Soon enough, hunters say, the habits and culture of these guests began to undermine the protective totemic practices linked to apes.

“In those days, our hunters never focused on killing chimpanzees and gorillas,” says Umar Likita, a local hunter. He recalls the visits of monkeys and chimpanzees near homes and the playful exchanges between them and the children. And how animal calls, at dawn and sunset, became a popular timer for locals.

“They did not regard our tradition,” Likita says of the southern settlers.

Bit by bit, these new guests began to induce Indigenous hunters to kill apes, he says. Migrants also financed the purchase or repair of firearms and other critical hunting gear, subtracting the costs from the final price of the hunted animal. “Buyers used money to convince the hunters. They promised them a lot of money,” Likita says.

At first, hunters say, the demand was for baby gorillas or chimps, often requiring hunters to kill their nursing mothers before capturing the offspring. “They bought those babies for plenty of money,” Dauda recalls.

Years later, demand for gorilla and chimp heads became significant. At that time, headless carcasses were either discarded, buried in forests, or eaten by nonnatives. Today, all ape body parts, including the skin and intestines, are in high demand, with prices varying in line with the perceived potency of the specific parts.

“They [Indigenous people] refused to kill or touch apes at the beginning. They usually throw away the parts or bury it when they kill it. We are persuading them to give us the meat and parts,” Akpa Chukwu, a trader of ape body parts, tells Mongabay. “But today, some of them have joined us in eating ape meat.”

Clandestine distribution network

Migrants didn’t just stop at overturning the taboo to trade; they became the heart of a commercialized ape body part trafficking network. Through their ground networks, ape body parts and babies were shipped to various parts of Nigeria and beyond.

Chukwu, who claims to have trafficked more than 200 apes in over a decade, says he traveled to many villages in Taraba, scouting for suppliers while negotiating with and building networks of hunters.

Network operations enable the secret smuggling of ape body parts by road. Illicit packages on transit are given false labels, or loaded into bags, trucks and containers mixed with crops, palm oil and other items to divert scrutiny at security checkpoints.

The consignments are often swaddled in multiple airtight sacks, hidden at the base of the truck in handheld rucksacks and covered with thick veils to mask the strong scent. As for live baby chimps, traffickers use perforated baskets to move them between key trading hubs like the cities of Kano and Yola.

Over time, as the scale of the trade grew, law enforcement agents began to intercept consignments in transit. It was this growing scrutiny along major routes such as Katsina–Ala, Chukwu tells Mongabay, that laid the groundwork for corruption.

Traffickers began to negotiate their passage by offering bribes to forest officers and other law enforcement in exchange for unhindered movement of their consignments across checkpoints.

Chukwu says forest officers accepted bribes routinely and only seized his animals if they didn’t agree with the bribe being offered. Other deals might require the corrupt officials leaking internal operations or patrol plans to the traffickers.

Mongabay contacted Abdullahi Usman, the Taraba spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force, to respond to these allegations. In response to a follow-up text message, he promised to call back, but hadn’t done so by the time this story was published.

Some smugglers claim to use alternative routes not monitored by forest guards. These paths are often forest trails. “If you pay enough bribes and build rapport with the forest guards or police, they will not disturb your trade,” Chukwu tells Mongabay. “Even when one is arrested, the intention is not to prosecute the traffickers, it’s just an effort to get bribes.”

As old officers and allies get redeployed or retire, the traffickers extend their deals to new personnel, tapping into existing relationships to manage the handover.

The lifeline of trafficking is networking. And all across Taraba and other forested states, traffickers like Chukwu maintain a large network of hunters who guarantee a steady supply of animal body parts, especially during the rainy season, when the apes are generally in short supply due to reduced hunting activity.

But this scarcity of apes is no longer just a seasonal affair. Hunters, traders and traffickers all say ape body parts are becoming increasingly scarce due to the grim reality of plummeting ape populations. For ape hunters, this population decline means longer and more strenuous hunting trips, which translates into higher prices for buyers. Hunting forays across the border into Cameroon are also surging.

“Apes were very abundant in the past. It was so easy to find,” Chukwu tells Mongabay. “But today, it’s nowhere near. It can’t be found in many nearby forests.”

Surging prices match scarcity

The scarcity reported by hunters in the forest is now being felt in the ape body part markets across Nigeria, according to traders interviewed by Mongabay.

These animal parts markets are locally known as jankara. The city of Ibadan in southwest Nigeria is one of the country’s largest markets for ape body parts, according to retails and wholesale traders. The Ibadan mega markets supply markets in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, as well as dozens of others in the southwest and southeast regions.

In southeastern Nigeria, Onitsha is arguably the biggest trading center for ape body parts. The city is host to two major jankara: Relief and Ose. Traders in these markets say they get their supplies from various parts of Nigeria through a feeder network of traffickers operating in rural forested areas as well as other bigger markets.

“If you visit Ose main markets, you can get up to 50 to 100 ape heads if you so desire. Their supply of ape body parts is quite large,” says Ekene Ezenwoke, an ape body part trader who operates from one of the major markets in southeast Nigeria.

Interviews with several sources indicate that traders and traffickers control the supply chain and logistics for distributing ape parts. But sometimes hunters sell their products directly to end users or retail traders.

Mongabay visited three major jankara in southern Nigeria, including Ose and Ogbete. In Ose, ape body parts weren’t on display, in an effort to avoid occasional raids by law enforcement disguised as buyers, but rather sold on demand.

Traders in animal parts occupy a section of the market bathed in the heady stench of herbal mixtures and decaying animal parts of various kinds: python skins, pangolin scales, vulture feathers among others. On display are colorful figurines, carvings, spiritual soaps, colored candles, prayer oils, chaplets, medicinal roots, stems, seeds, leaves and more.

None of the shops Mongabay visited had ape body parts on open display. Some traders denied trading in such parts, finally conceding the opposite after we were able to convince them that we weren’t part of any undercover mission for local or international intelligence or law enforcement agencies. Compared to similar visits by Mongabay to wildlife markets in 2019, traders this time around were clearly more wary of laws against ape trafficking, and far less trusting of unfamiliar guests.

But this growing awareness is also punctuated by misperceptions. Ezenwoke, for example, says trading apes is illegal only when the animal part is fresh and bloodied.

“The killing of these animals has been banned. If anyone is caught with a large quantity of ape body parts, the person can be jailed,” he tells Mongabay. “But when it is smoked or dried, it is not illegal.”

Traders have also reported a price surge: a gorilla head goes from 300,000 to 1 million naira ($200 to $670), a drastic rise from five years ago. Chimpanzee body parts are far more available and cost much less.

But the customer base, traders say, has remained the same. “Our biggest buyers are people who use apes in African medicine and spiritual practices,” Ezenwoke tells Mongabay.

Changing rituals

Despite this loyal customer base, overall patronage is in decline, according to interviews with traders and native medicine specialists.

While those we spoke with maintain a belief in the potency of ape body parts, herbal healers and native doctors say demand for and reliance on remedies made from them is declining.

Medicine men are gradually integrating and pivoting to more abundant domestic animals for rituals and sacrifices. “I have been using cow and goat heads because ape body parts are not easily available,” says a native healer in Enugu state.

There’s also a much younger generation of African spiritualists who, disconnected from both the history and purported potency of ape body parts, are embracing charms that rely on more readily available domestic animal parts.

“Traditional medicine is changing,” says Uzondu Agwu, a practitioner in Enugu, “and native doctors are beginning to develop cheaper medicines that don’t depend on expensive animal parts like apes.”

Banner image: A western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), a species known to inhabit parts of Cameroon that border Taraba state. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

What is magic without ape parts? Inside the illicit trade devastating Nigeria’s apes

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Isabel Esterman Editor

This story first appeared on Mongabay

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