The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), with support from personnel of the Nigerian Army, has destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi, in Edo State, with a combined estimated yield of 1,360.23 kilogrammes of cannabis.
The operation was conducted on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, as part of intensified efforts by Nigerian authorities to disrupt the cultivation and distribution of illicit drugs across the country.
According to the NDLEA, its officers, supported by soldiers, located and destroyed the two cannabis farms in the Ilushi area. The agency estimated that the farms could have produced approximately 1,360.23kg of cannabis.
The operation highlights the continued focus of Nigerian drug-control authorities on cannabis cultivation in forest and rural areas, where illicit plantations can be difficult to detect and access.
The latest development is part of a broader series of NDLEA operations across several states involving the destruction of cannabis farms, drug seizures and arrests of suspected traffickers.
However, NDLEA and multiple independent media outlets do not indicate that two suspects were arrested in connection with the Edo farm operation. The two suspects arrested during the same nationwide operation were Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, in Bauchi State, where NDLEA operatives reportedly recovered 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg from a truck. The cannabis was allegedly concealed in a false compartment of the vehicle.
This distinction is important because the Edo farm destruction and the Bauchi arrests were separate operations carried out in different states.
The NDLEA’s latest activities reflect the agency’s continuing enforcement strategy against both the cultivation and trafficking of cannabis. In recent weeks, the agency has reported several major cannabis-related operations in Edo State and other parts of Nigeria.
Earlier in September, NDLEA operatives reported the destruction of 4,832.56kg of skunk from cannabis farms in Usen Forest, Igwe-Oke Forest and Ogboha Forest in Edo State, with one suspect arrested during that operation.
The repeated discovery of cannabis plantations in Edo also underscores the state’s significance within Nigeria’s illicit cannabis cultivation landscape. NDLEA operations have previously targeted large plantations in several forest locations across the state.
Beyond Edo, the agency’s latest nationwide operations included drug seizures and arrests in Lagos, Oyo, Bauchi and other states. In Oyo State, for instance, two Togolese nationals were reportedly arrested with 305.6kg of skunk allegedly being transported through the Oyo axis from Ghana.
The NDLEA has continued to combine enforcement operations with its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign, which seeks to raise public awareness about the dangers associated with illicit drug use and trafficking.
The agency’s September 23 operation in Edo therefore represents another intervention aimed at preventing a significant quantity of locally cultivated cannabis from reaching illicit markets.
The NDLEA has not publicly stated that the 1,360.23kg was seized as processed cannabis; rather, it described the figure as the estimated combined yield of the two destroyed farms. This distinction is relevant when reporting the scale of the operation.
Obaland Magazine will continue to follow developments surrounding Nigeria’s drug-control efforts, including further arrests, prosecutions and official statements arising from operations against illicit cannabis cultivation and trafficking.
NDLEA officers backed by Nigerian Army personnel have destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi, Edo State, with an estimated combined yield of 1,360.23kg.