Human-wildlife conflict is no stranger to rural dwellers in Nigeria. DAYO OYEWO, in this report, writes oon how the tension has taken on a deadly dimension across communities in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State

Human-wildlife conflict is a frequent occurrence among rural dwellers, especially those living in forested areas where daily life intersects with the natural habitats of wild animals.

These encounters can lead to destructive consequences, including property damage, injuries, and even loss of life.

Despite the severity of these incidents, they often fail to capture the attention of most Nigerians, except for conservationists or those directly affected by such encounters.

This disconnect was evident again on Wednesday, July 28, when news broke that an elephant had attacked and killed a 50-year-old farmer, Yaya Musa aka Kalamu, at Itasin Imobi in the Ijebu East Local Government area of Ogun State.

A statement by the state police command disclosed that elephants escaped from the Government Reserve and attacked Musa, who died on the way to the hospital.

The Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunlowo, said, "The DPO in Ogbere received information from the Itasin community on 28/07/2025 at about 1620hrs that elephants escaped from the Government Reserve and attacked one Musa Kalamu, who died on the way to the hospital.

"Officers of the Ogun State Forestry were contacted to curtail the animals from further damage. Calm has returned to the community."

This followed a disturbing viral video that showed the lifeless body of the middle-aged man.

As the news spread, this reporter observed that many Nigerians appeared less concerned about the casualties from the incident and more astonished to learn that elephants still roam in the country.

This reaction indicated not only the underreported efforts of conservationists but also the continuing presence of the animals and the recurring human-elephant conflicts across communities in the Local Government Area.

Ogun State is regarded as having one of the largest numbers of Elephants in the country. For some communities across Ijebu East, the big creatures are no strangers as they maintain their habitats in the forests surrounding them. These include, Eseke, Fatai, Sojukorodo, Apora, and Erifun communities in the Area J1 area of Ijebu Igbo.

About three decades ago, some foreign conservationists sought the federal government's permission through the defunct Nigerian Forest Elephants to protect the elephants in these communities. They took up the daunting mission to monitor the elephants that roamed the vast, lush lands. This lasted until the Nigeria Conservation Foundation was established, and the need to create a protective area for animals, particularly the endangered ones, became necessary.

After spending many years in the forests surrounding the communities, the elephants soon found their survival threatened by human encroachment into their habitat.

Initially, the encroachment was minimal and carried out mainly by local farmers whose activities had a limited impact on the forest. However, the situation took a different turn when farmers from neighbouring states began invading the area in search of land to cultivate.

"At this point, the incursion into the habitat of the elephants began to make them uncomfortable," Dele Oyadun, a resident in Area J1, disclosed.

According to him, the invasion was encouraged by the then federal government's plan to empower farmers and support them with certain funds, as well as those who were looking for spaces to engage in cocoa farming.

He said, "The elephants once had their habitat in J1, until human activities, particularly farming and logging, began to shrink their space in the forest. These economic activities were carried out by farmers who came in from Osun and Ondo states. Ordinarily, these elephants prefer their habitat to be covered with tall trees, where they can roam freely. They really don't like open spaces. But farmers began burning the trees and applying chemicals to destroy them.

"At first, the elephants tried to endure it, but this led to conflicts with the farmers. With less space than they were used to, the elephants strayed into farms and ate some of their crops while also trampling on some of them. As a result of this, the farmers also tried to attack them."

Oyadun added that this followed several antics to dislodge them from the area.

"Since J1 holds the largest concentration of elephants, the reduced space could no longer contain them, and this also caused the elephants to clash with themselves for superiority over the limited space," he further disclosed.

In March 2018, habitat Area loss occasioned by the economic activities of the farmers and loggers became a push factor that caused a large number of elephants to begin emigrating from their habitat in J1, otherwise known as Jungle1, while seeking another habitat they could settle down in. The movement went on for weeks as they entered some of the communities.

They moved from Area J1 down to Area J3 and from there down to Ijebu Itele. It was from that point that they moved to Area J4.

When they moved into Area J4, members of the community were surprised at the number of elephants roaming around their settlement.

The community leader of Area J4, Safi Bisiriyu, said, " They were up to 60. They spent close to two weeks here, roaming about. During this period of migration, all they wanted was to find a new habitat, but as they progressed, they discovered that the same human activities were ongoing. That was why when they got to the forest around the corridor of each community, they waited for a while and observed if it was suitable for them. And truthfully, the same incursion into Area J1 was already being witnessed here at that time. So they just kept moving on,"

After they left Area J4, they proceeded to Atoyo from where they crossed the expressway to Imobi and eventually got to Itasin, where they have settled to date.

Itasin is known to have maintained a proximity to the lagoon with a community of predominantly fishermen. As a result of this, the ratio of those who engage in fishing far surpasses those who are into farming. The incursion of farmers from neighbouring states, as well as the activities of loggers that characterised the former habitat of the elephants, were not the usual fashion in Itasin before the arrival of the elephants.

Unlike their former habitat, the Itasin community rarely had contact with elephants, let alone talk of how to relate with the animals. Although history recorded that they had been in the community in the 1940s.

During a visit to the community, a resident, Laolu Fatomisin, said, "What most of us do here is fishing, and this is due to our closeness to the river that links to the lagoon at Ijebu waterside. Those of us doing farming cultivate mainly cassava. We had no prior knowledge of how to relate to elephants. When they got here in June 2018, we thought they were passing by and never imagined they would settle down. It was after a while that we started to see them in the forest. It later became a reality when we discovered that they had finally come to settle down. Another thing was that we were never bothered about their presence during this period, as we only thought there were a handful of them."

Fast forward to 2021, Itashin drew more settlers seeking space and eager to tap into the economic rewards of logging and cocoa farming that had transformed into booming enterprises. The sharp rise in cocoa prices only fueled this expansion as farmers cleared more land to plant the lucrative crop. Checks by this reporter also revealed that a bag of cocoa now costs about N100,000. Some of the villagers also quickly keyed into the prospects of logging and cocoa farming, abandoning their fishing occupation and cassava planting.

However, what the community did not realise was that the new development occasioned by the relentless search for farmland and logging activities was gradually carving into the heart of the elephants' habitat. The dense forests that had sheltered the herds since they arrived in 2018 began to thin out. It also became clear to them that the elephants were not as few as they thought.

Before long, another chapter in the long history of human-elephant conflict began to unfold. Frustrated voices rose within the community as farmers lamented the destruction of their crops while pointing accusing fingers at the elephants. In all of these was a desperate bid for survival on the part of the animals and for the farmers; it was a battle to protect their livelihoods.

"In February last year, there were complaints from some community members about how the elephants destroyed the crops on our farms. They did a lot of damage there, and we had to report to the forest officers and the necessary authorities. We also recorded the video and shared it with them, but to our surprise, they told us to stay away from the area. How do we stay away from our ancestral land? That is not even possible," another resident of Itashi, Kehinde Amodu, lamented.

Human-elephant conflicts across the communities surrounded by rain forest in Ijebu East have resulted in four casualties and a sizeable number of injuries. While these are records that could be accounted for, there are other cases that never became public knowledge.

In January 2023, a young elephant was found lying lifeless near a forest in Itasin. During a closer look, a bullet wound was found on the head. The killing of the animal was said to have attracted men of the forest guard both from the state capital, Abeokuta, as well as the ones at the neighbouring communities. Findings revealed that the perpetrator of the act has not been identified to date.

Also in 2017, another elephant was said to have been killed before the relocation of the elephants from Area J One. The elephant was reportedly unalived after attacking a member of the community for yet unknown reasons.

A member of the community, Saheed Ojomo, who was privy to the incident, said an official of the forest was almost relieved of his job after the killing.

"The elephant was accused of attacking a member of the community. He was thereafter trailed and killed. It was while the lifeless body was on the floor that a forest guard, perhaps got carried away, climbed the elephant and started to jubilate. This was captured in a video and seen by the authorities. He was later sanctioned for the act, which negates his core duty as a forest guard. He was almost sacked," Ojomo said.

Members of the communities, however, recorded their first human casualty in 2018 when a male adult was killed by an elephant in the Baoku area of Area J1. The individual was said to have just returned from the farm with his colleagues when a small herd of elephants in the distance caught his attention.

For him, it was the very first encounter, but what started as awe quickly became excitement. He grabbed and sprinted toward the herd, determined to capture a picture of a calf grazing a few metres away. As he closed in to take a picture, the baby elephant grew uneasy and attempted to shift to move out of sight.

He, however, pressed on and edged closer, but his innocent intentions were misunderstood by the calf, who later let out a sharp cry. The mother, who was a distant away, emerged and was fiercely protective, but before anyone could intervene, she wrapped her trunk around him, lifted him, and slammed his head against a rock. He died instantly.

The second human casualty recorded was the recent incident involving Yaya Musa, which had since gained traction.

A farmer in the community, Fatai Adeshina, said the villagers first heard of the attack when the deceased son child ran into the community, crying that his father had been attacked by elephants.

He said, "When help arrived, the elephants had already gored him and ripped open his stomach. The villagers tried all they could to save him, but he died within five minutes of being taken back to the community."

Efforts to speak to the widow of the deceased proved futile as the mother of six was said to be unavailable for comment.

In a similar development, two members of the Itasin community, identified simply as Bello and Badmus, a chainsaw operator, were severely injured in 2024 after encountering the elephants.

The International Elephant Foundation reported with concern that elephant populations worldwide continue to decline in the wild. It noted that human encroachment, habitat loss driven by population growth and infrastructure development, as well as poaching, remain major threats. According to the foundation, conflicts between humans and elephants are becoming more frequent as shrinking habitats push elephants into farmlands in search of food and water.

"As elephants seek food and water in historical elephant habitat now converted to farmlands, humans attempt to protect their lands and livelihoods, and human and elephant injuries and fatalities are often the result," the foundation noted.

Speaking in the same vein, a forest ranger who identified himself simply as Matthew said, "This is where elephants are living, and you go in there and you clear up and do bush burning so that you can carry out your own economic activity. The elephant does not have any other place, and there will be a conflict. If you plant cassava, the elephant will see it as you have come to my house to prepare some nice food that we can feed on, and the farmer will not be happy."

It is a serious issue around here. The elephants are not in captivity, and they don't know who owns what because it is their habitat. Oftentimes, people feel bad about it and want to retaliate. They often attack the elephant, and the elephant retaliates and wants to attack too.

Elephants ended my farming career - Itashin community leader

Chief Adewale Obilana, the Olisa of Itasin, used to be a renowned farmer in the community, but what should have been a flourishing agricultural career ended abruptly, not because of poor soil but because of elephants.

Before he took up his current chieftaincy role, Obilana cultivated nearly 20 acres of farmland, investing energy and resources. Elephants' incursions, however, destroyed his crops and rendered his efforts useless. He had no choice but to abandon farming altogether.

"It is these elephants that ended my career as a farmer. I used to farm before my current position, and I cultivated crops on 20 acres of land, but they came and destroyed everything on it. That was when I stopped farming. They used to chase people out and injure them in the process. So many people have been injured as a result of this. As I speak to you, our people go into the forest with fear in their hearts."

"Meanwhile, government officials have been visiting us, but they only come, talk to us, leave, and nothing really comes out of it. The government requested the land from one of our mornachs who had passed away, but history has it that Itasin had been in existence since 1430. So, how is it possible for us to vacate our ancestral land for elephants? That is not possible. We cannot kill them, yet they are disturbing us. The level of damage done by the elephants is not something we can measure."

He further explained that they experienced such incidents more during the rainy season.

"Whenever it rains, the water level rises and spreads into some parts of the forest. This thereby causes them to start avoiding the water and from there start moving into the community and anything farm they come across in the process, they destroy them. We want them to come and move them away from here, or they cage them."

Corroborating the incursion of loggers in the community, Obilana said their activities resulted in the severity of the attack by the elephants.

He alleged that some residents in the community collected money from some groups of people who engage in wood logging with chainsaw machines in the forest.

He said, "The loggers usually stayed inside the forest to cut the woods into planks with their machines, and the prolonged use of these noisy machines irritated the elephants, often forcing them out of the forest."

This article was partly funded by a grant from the United States Department of State through Wild Africa. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the author[s] and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State.

A trip to Erin Camp and the attributes of elephants

Omo Forest, located in J4, is a vast expanse of biodiversity and home to the majestic forest elephants. The forest contained over 200 species of trees, whose canopies formed a natural cathedral under which life thrived.

The Programme Manager of the Forest Elephant Initiative, which involves the Nigeria Conservation Foundation, Wild Planet Trust, Whitney Wildlife Conservation Trust, and the Ogun State Ministry of Forestry, Emmanuel Olabode, told our correspondent during a field trip to Erin camp, otherwise known as elephant camp, located in the forest revealed that elephants are smart animals.

He also disclosed that the herd of elephants is a well-organised structure.

He said, "During this wet season, she knows where to get food and water, and during the dry season, she knows where to take the group to. It is such a well-organised structure. The young ones around them are well protected. If you see them in their group, the biggest one would stay in the front, then others will take sides, then some will stay at the back, while the young ones will stay in the middle. That is how they move around. They don't like anything happening to their calves.

Speaking further, he noted that despite their size, one can barely know when they are moving.

He said, "By the virtue of their big bodies which touch the leaves around them, you can get to know they are around where you are, but in terms of their leg, you cannot hear their footsteps; they might even be next to you and you won't know. There was a time were tracking and you know the forest is dense and you can only see them clearly at an open space. So, at some point, the elephants we were tracking just disappeared, not knowing that it was behind one big tree.

"It just came out and stood right in front of us. We also stood there, and the elephant kept looking at us, not knowing that it was telling other elephants to keep moving far away. We were in that position for like five minutes, we could not even raise our hand to take a picture, which could of course be deadly because they don't like flashlights. So all of a sudden, she just turned and left the place, and we now started hearing others very far away. So they are such smart animals."

Olabode also showed some markings on the trees, which formed part of their data collection on the elephants.

He said, he and his team of rangers, during a visit to the camp do collect data to know how many elephants had been there, including what age, structure, and height.

"All the information we need to get that data is around us. On the heights, we use the markings on the tree which show their shoulder heights having moved through the paths," he added.

Olabode, who conducted journalists across the camp, noted that a camera trap also provides details that make up the data collated on the elephants. He also explained that the data were taken every month.

"There is also a systematic way we do it. We might do a camera trap survey for six months. That means each camera will spend a certain time at a particular position. You can leave it there for that number of months or leave it there, depending on what we are looking at," he explained.

Footprints of the elephants who had just walked past the path were sighted during the survey.

As part of their core responsibilities as forest rangers, Olabode and his team also go around the communities to sensitise people about wildlife that are protected under the law, including the endangered species among them.

"This is what is left of the tropical rainforest in the South-west from Lagos down to Benin. Most states have been tampered with. So this is just like a bloc that is still relatively intact. It is an important spot in conservation space, an Important Bed Area - IBA. We are also looking at changing the status from that to Key Biodiversity Area - KBA," he said.

UN, CITES on the protection of wildlife

An assessment by a United Nations Environment Programme-administered treaty, African elephant populations have fallen from an estimated 12 million a century ago, to some 400,000, according to estimations contained in the 2016 African Elephant Status Report.

This is as the World Wildlife Treaty, CITES Secretary-General, Ivonne Higuero, noted that the human population of Africa has grown tenfold, from 125 million to 1,225 million, creating competition for land with elephants.

"The international community should further expand its work with the African range States to find solutions that work both for the elephants and for local communities," he added.

Higuero, while celebrating five decades of protecting endangered wildlife from overexploitation through international trade in June 2025, called on the international community to remain committed to the cause of protecting wildlife from trade-driven extinction

She said, "Let the next 50 years be marked by deeper unity, sharper focus, and bolder action. We must continue aiming high and build a world where wild animals and plants thrive in their natural habitats, where trade supports - not threatens - biodiversity, and where people and planet prosper in harmony."

Call for the establishment of a protected Area in Itashin

Aside from Omo Forest Reserve, there are nine other forest reserves across Ogun State. These include: Imeko Game Reserve, Olokemeji Forestry Reserve, Ilaro Forestry Reserve, Edun Stram Forestry Reserve, Strict Natural Reserve, Aworo Forestry Reserve, Eggua Forestry Reserve, Ohumbe Forestry Reserve, and Arakanga Forestry Reserve.

While these reserves have been serving their purposes, the death of Kalamu again brought to the fore an ongoing subtle campaign to declare Itashin forest a government-protected area.

To ensure the safety of the different wildlife in the State, particularly Elephants in the Forest Reserves, the state ministry of forestry had requested and secured Governor Dapo Abiodun's approval to acquire and gazette 4,000 hectares of land in Itasin.

It was learnt that the Ministry had commenced the process of takeover of the approved 4,000-hectare Wildlife Sanctuary at Itasin community.

Also, since the incident happened, checks by this reporter revealed that the state government had not provided any update on the efforts being made to forestall such a recurrence.

A resident in Itasin who craved anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the incident said the government had yet to come to terms with the reality in Itasin.

"The government still thinks the number of elephants in Itasin is and the possibility of a clash with the settlers is nothing to be worried about. The incident that happened recently took them by surprise. The people in the community have been complaining about this for a while. Of course, the elephants are not easy to attack, and some of them get injured while attempting to do so. I hope they won't be forced one day to start carrying sophisticated weapons to attack the elephants," the resident disclosed.

A member representing Ijebu East in the Ogun State House of Assembly, Waliu Ifedolapo, while reacting to the death of the farmer, urged the state government and relevant wildlife and environmental agencies to take immediate steps to investigate the cause of the incident and implement preventive measures to forestall a recurrence.

The lawmaker advocated for the immediate implementation of a conservationist development plan in the area to manage human-wildlife boundaries and ensure the safety of lives and property, while preserving ecological balance.

"This tragedy highlights the urgent need for coordinated efforts between conservation agencies, local authorities, and the state government. Our communities should not live in fear of wildlife attacks. We must strike a balance between conservation and safety," he added.

Govt should criminalise destruction of forest reserve - NCF DG, Onoja

The Director-General of Nigeria Conservation Foundation, Joseph Onoja, said there was a need for the Ogun State Wildlife Act to criminalise any act that destroyed the forest reserve, including indiscriminate and illegal logging, and to ensure that people and animals remained within their respective territories.

He noted that as long as people continued to encroach on animal habitats, clashes were likely to occur.

"There is a need for the Ogun State Wildlife Act to criminalise any act that destroys the forest reserve, discriminate and illegal logging, and allow the people to be on their own side and the animals on their own side. But as long as they continue to encroach on their habitat, there are likely to be clashes. We are not saying animals are better than humans, but it will be shocking to tell you that humans are also not better than animals. Nature has positioned animals for human benefits, so what we can do is to create a harmonious relationship between humans and animals. Just like humans, animals have a right to live as well, especially higher animals like elephants, who gives birth once in two or three years. Itasin and Omo forest reserve are not officially gazetted as a forest reserve. It is just a game reserve which has a government protection status, where we have a wildlife sanctuary. And it is not only because of the animals, but it is also a watershed for the Lagos lagoon.

He added that once the forest was gazetted, it would empower stakeholders to enforce protective laws, attract investments in equipment to safeguard the area, and create employment opportunities for the community.

According to him, hunters could be converted into rangers, while ecotourism could be developed with the help of villagers who knew the locations of elephants.

"Itasin is less than 100 kilometres away from Lagos. Some tours can be organised where people will go and see elephants live. This is what other East and South African colleagues are enjoying, and they are earning in dollars. So we can have a non-consumptive value of our nature, not just the consumptive value that we know, because when we consume it, it finishes, but when we don't consume it, it will always be there for generations upon generations, people will come there to see it, and they will be paying money. We have been working with the Ogun State Government to ensure that the Itasin wildlife is gazetted, especially the Omo forest where we are in charge of," he added.

Ogun govt declined comment

When contacted, the Commissioner for Forestry, Taiwo Oludotun, declined to speak on the efforts the government was making to forestall the recurrence of the clash.

He only disclosed that the ministry was planning to hold a press briefing, saying, "We are going to call everyone to the briefing."

Meanwhile, Oladotun had earlier told The PUNCH that the incident was such that the government was "never happy about."

When asked about allegations of negligence, Oludotun stated, "I don't want us to drag this issue back and forth. A life has been lost, which is very painful. We need to respect the dead and proffer solutions to avoid future occurrences. Presently, they are in a mourning mood. Justifying any issue means we are not sensitive to their plight. We will meet with the community very soon and see what we can do as a government."