Reported by Simon Daniel Yusuph l Journalist at Weng Global
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), supported by Nigerian Army personnel, has destroyed two cannabis farms with a combined estimated yield of 1,360.23 kilogrammes at Eko Camp, Ilushi, in Edo State.
The operation was carried out on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to disrupt the cultivation and supply of illicit drugs across Nigeria, according to the NDLEA.
The agency disclosed the development in a statement issued by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, September 27.
Cannabis farms destroyed in Edo
According to the NDLEA, officers supported by soldiers moved against two cannabis farms located at Eko Camp in the Ilushi area of Edo State.
The farms had a combined estimated yield of 1,360.23kg of cannabis.
The figure represents the estimated yield of the farms rather than a quantity of processed cannabis reported as seized from suspects.
The operation forms part of wider drug-control activities conducted by NDLEA commands across the country during the week.
The agency has continued to target both cannabis cultivation sites and trafficking networks as part of its drug-supply reduction strategy.
Two suspects arrested in Bauchi
The NDLEA’s latest operation report also disclosed the arrest of two suspects in Bauchi State, although the agency did not link those arrests to the Edo farm operation.
The suspects, identified as Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, were arrested along the Maiduguri bypass.
The agency said they were found with 300 compressed blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 262.5kg.
According to the NDLEA, the cannabis was concealed in the false bottom of a truck marked MUB757 YH.
The distinction is important because the agency’s official account separately reports the Bauchi arrests and the destruction of the Edo farms.
Wider NDLEA operations
The Edo and Bauchi operations were among several drug-control activities reported by the NDLEA across the country during the week.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives seized 2.55 million pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg during the examination of three monitored consignments.
The agency said the consignments had a combined gross weight of 1,640.55kg and were imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
In Lagos, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested during a raid on Anifowoshe Street in Mushin. NDLEA said 3.4kg of skunk was recovered from them.
A separate operation at the Ebute-Ero motor park led to the interception of 58-year-old Ugwu Johnson. The agency said officers recovered 5.920kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol from him.
Oyo and Seme border arrests
In Oyo State, NDLEA officers arrested two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, along the Iganna-Ilero Road in Iganna.
The agency said the suspects were found with 305.6kg of skunk concealed in two pickup vans allegedly being used to transport cannabis sourced from Ghana into Nigeria.
At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, five suspects were also arrested in connection with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide weighing 1,688.4kg.
The agency identified the suspects as Kingsley John, 40; John Chibuike Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47.
Two vehicles allegedly used to transport the consignment from the border into Lagos were also recovered, according to the NDLEA.
Why the Edo operation matters
Cannabis cultivation remains a significant focus of Nigeria’s drug-control operations, particularly because cultivation sites can provide a source for subsequent processing, distribution and trafficking.
Destroying cultivation sites is therefore aimed at reducing the supply of cannabis before the crop reaches wider distribution networks.
The Edo operation also demonstrates the continued use of joint security operations in tackling drug cultivation in areas where farms are located in difficult-to-access environments.
However, the NDLEA’s reported estimated yield should not be interpreted as 1,360.23kg of processed cannabis seized from the farms. The agency specifically described the figure as the farms’ combined estimated yield and said the farms were destroyed.
NDLEA urges sustained operations
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended personnel from the agency’s MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme and Bauchi commands for the reported operations.
Marwa urged officers and personnel across the agency to maintain what the NDLEA described as a balanced approach to drug-control efforts.
The agency has also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation programme in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The latest activities included sensitisation programmes in Oyo, Edo, Gombe and Kano states, while the Delta Ports Command conducted an advocacy visit to the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III.
What happens next
The NDLEA is expected to continue operations targeting cannabis cultivation, drug trafficking and other forms of illicit drug activity across the country.
The agency’s latest report does not state that arrests were made at the two cannabis farms in Eko Camp, Ilushi. It also does not provide details on the size of the farms or identify any alleged owners or cultivators.
Further legal action against suspects arrested in the separate operations will depend on investigations and subsequent proceedings by the relevant authorities.
The destruction of the Edo farms is therefore best understood as a supply-reduction operation, while the arrests in Bauchi, Lagos, Oyo and at the Seme border represent separate enforcement actions reported by the NDLEA during the same operational period.
Weng Global – stories beyond borders
Sources
- National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
- Premium Times
- Punch
- Vanguard
