Nigerian poachers arrested with hippopotamus teeth

Bauchi — Two hunters have been arrested with bush-buck and two teeth of hippopotamus' suspected to have been poached from Yankari Game Reserve in Bauchi State. Head of Interim Management committee of Yankari Game Reserve, Adamu Jibrin Aliyu told newsmen in Bauchi that the suspects were arrested by the police and games rangers during a joint patrol along Mainamaji village near Yankari in Alkaleri Local Government Area of the state. Jibrin said one of those arrested killed the bush buck with a locally made gun while his colleague used a sharp knife to remove the teeth of hippopotamus. He reiterated the commitment of the state government to protect the animals and plants in the game reserve, adding that the government has introduced motivation for the rangers to live up to expectation towards protecting the game reserve. While answering question from newsmen separately the suspects who gave their names as Yahaya Yahaya and Aliyu Abdullahi all of them of lushi village in Bauchi Local Government Area admitted that they committed the offence.Yahaya said he was the one who shot dead the bush buck while Abdullahi said he wrestled with the hippotamous and he removed its two teeth with his sharp knife. Last two weeks a woman was arrested with ivory, two heads of water bucks crocodile which she bought from hunters that poach animals in the game reserve and over 50 elephants have been confirmed killed by suspected hunters in the game reserve last year. Source: Daily Trust (Lagos, Nigeria)