Nigeria’s logging industry — in pictures

A tree trunk is carved with markings in an unreserved forest in the town of Igede in Nigeria’s southwest state of Ekiti. Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

Workers roll a log into a milling machine at a sawmill near an unreserved forest in Igede-Ekiti township. Nigeria lost just over 2 million hectares of forest annually between 2005-2010 driven by agricultural expansion, logging and infrastructure development, according to UN data. Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A labourer uses a milling machine at a sawmill near an unreserved forest in Igede-Ekiti township. For global logging companies, Nigerian forests appear to be an easy target as environmental regulations in the country are rarely enforced. Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

Nigeria lost just over 2 million hectares of forest annually between 2005-2010 driven by agricultural expansion, logging and infrastructure development, according to UN data. It is also among the biggest users of solid fuel for cooking, with over 120m Nigerians relying on firewood and charcoal for their cooking needs. Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A woman collects sawdust at a sawmill near an unreserved forest in Igede-Ekiti township. Nigeria is among the biggest users of solid fuel for cooking, with over 120 million Nigerians relying on firewood and charcoal for their cooking needs. Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A saw blade cuts through a plank at a sawmill near an unreserved forest in Igede-Ekiti township. Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

Workers prepare to load a cut log in a truck in an unreserved forest in the village of Igbatoro. Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A man cuts down a tree in an unreserved forest in Igede-Ekiti township. Nigeria lost just over 2 million hectares of forest annually between 2005-2010 driven by agricultural expansion, logging and infrastructure development, according to UN data. Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A cocoa farmer and log merchant, Olawole Samson, second left, with his family in their home in the village of Igbatoro, southwest Nigeria. Mr Samson is a community school teacher but also has an expansive cocoa farm where available trees are cut down and sold to support his meagre income. Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

Nigeria lost just over 2 million hectares of forest annually between 2005-2010 driven by agricultural expansion, logging and infrastructure development, according to UN data. It is also among the biggest users of solid fuel for cooking, with over 120m Nigerians relying on firewood and charcoal for their cooking needs. Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

A labourer’s gloves are seen on a log in an unreserved forest in Igede-Ekiti township. Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

Logging, both legal and illegal, remains a lucrative business that has contributed to the rapid shrinking of Africa’s rainforests and woodlands. Nigeria lost just over 2 million hectares of forest annually between 2005-2010 driven by agricultural expansion, logging and infrastructure development, according to UN data.