The Director-General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has commended the Baale of Okun Igando in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, Hon. Chief Semiu Waliu Jejelaiye, and the local fishing community for their heroic rescue and release of a critically endangered Leatherback Sea Turtle back into the wild.
The commendation follows widespread social media footage showing the massive sea turtle entangled in a commercial fishing net along the shoreline. Rather than harming the creature, community members rallied together under the leadership of Chief Jejelaiye who intervened to stop initial attempts to kill or sell the marine giant and successfully guided the turtle back into the Atlantic Ocean.
Lauding the community’s swift action, the NESREA Chief highlighted the rescue as a shining example of grassroots environmental stewardship and wildlife conservation. The agency emphasized that protecting endangered species requires active collaboration between regulatory bodies and coastal communities.
The Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), the largest of all living turtles, is classified as critically endangered due to habitat destruction, accidental entanglement in commercial fishing gear, and illegal poaching. NESREA reiterated its commitment to enforcing wildlife protection laws while urging other coastal settlements across Nigeria to emulate the exemplary action of the Okun Igando community.
