INVESTIGATION: Despite environmental risks, Nigerian governors converting conservation centres into luxury estates

As a child growing up in Warri, Delta State, Ambrose Igboke was regaled with folktales of tortoise mischief, wisdom, and longevity. The lion was always touted as the king of the forest. So, whenever he travelled with his uncle to his village in Enugu, Nigeria’s south-east zone, they would stop at the massive zoological garden in the state to see the tortoise and other animals.

Other children and adults would swarm into the zoo to have fun and catch a glimpse of the animals. From…