LAGOS - An international group of animal rights campaigners today called for an inquiry into the transfer in January of four baby gorillas from Nigeria to Malaysia.

The International Primates Protection League (IPPL) in a statement sent to AFP said that four rare western lowland gorillas were flown on around January 18-20 from Lagos to the Taiping Zoo in Malaysia.

Both Nigeria and Malaysia are signatories of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which bans the trade in highly endangered animals.

Any trade in wild-born gorillas is outlawed under the convention.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country in human terms, has the third highest number of primate species and sub-species on the continent.

It has a population of between 200 and 250 rare western lowland gorillas living in tropical rainforest in southeastern Nigeria, but none in captivity.

More gorillas live in neighbouring Cameroon and IPPL chairwoman Shirely McGreal said it was possible that the gorillas had been captured in Cameroon and "laundered" through Nigeria.

RM6 mil gorrillas

The IPPL said in its statement that a named Nigerian individual had offered the Malaysian zoo the gorillas for a price of RM6 million (US$1.6 million).

The same individual had issued a price list on other animals, whose trade is banned. The prices ranged from RM304,000 (US$80,000) for a baby jackal to RM760,000 (US$200,000) for four baby chimpanzees.

Monkeys, antelopes, lions and rare parrots were also on the list.

"The International Primate Protection League has confirmed that four gorillas have reached the Taiping Zoo in Malaysia and that the country of origin was Nigeria," McGreal said.

She said the trade was unjustifiable particularly in a country where the gorilla population was under threat.

"Should the animals have originated in Cameroon, then Nigeria would clearly be laundering a neighbour country's wildlife," she added.

The IPPL called on CITES to issue a warning "cautioning all parties against issuing permits for wildlife emanating from Nigeria."

In 1995 two rare Nigerian drill monkeys and a baby gorilla were smuggled out of the country to the Philippines. After they were found, the gorilla died and the monkeys were returned to Nigeria.

Last September an infant gorilla and infant chimpanzee were drowned in a vat of chemicals at Cairo airport after being discovered on a flight from the northern Nigerian city of Kano.