NDLEA burns 61,000 kilograms of seized cannabis in Akure
Nigeria's NDLEA publicly destroyed 61,000 kilograms of drug exhibits, mostly cannabis, in Akure on 16 July 2012. Chairman Ahmadu Giade said Ondo State had led national seizures and that 514 hectares of farmland had been traced to cannabis in the previous two years.
On Monday 16 July 2012, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency officers burned 61,000 kilograms of
forfeited drug exhibits in Akure, the capital of Ondo State.[1]Chairman Ahmadu Giade told guests
that cannabis cultivation threatened food production and that drug barons were diverting arable land
from legitimate crops.[1]
Ondo’s role in national seizures
Giade said Ondo had led Nigeria in NDLEA seizures over the preceding two years, with 123,452.76
kilograms of cannabis seized and 514 hectares of cannabis farmland traced in that period.[1]He
gave yearly breakdowns of 367 hectares traced in 2010, 147 hectares destroyed in 2011, and the
statewide cumulative figures announced at the ceremony.[1]Ondo environment commissioner Sola
Ebisheni, standing in for Governor Olusegun Mimiko, urged communities to report cultivators living
among them.[1]
Public burn
Linda Ikeji’s blog reported the destruction the same evening with photographs of stacked cannabis,
lighting the fire, and concealment methods including compressed tablets and jerrycans.[2]Her post
treats the burned material as cannabis alongside other drugs but does not separate weights.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Giade's speech mixes statewide totals (514 hectares traced and 123,452.76 kilograms seized over two years) with the single day's 61,000 kilogram burn; the opened sources do not itemise how much of the burned stock was cannabis versus other drugs.
Linda Ikeji's photo post describes the event as destroying "hard drugs" including weed but gives no weight breakdown or court-order detail.
Neither opened report names defendants whose forfeited cannabis was burned or lists new arrests tied to the ceremony.
The NDLEA's Nasarawa State command destroyed cannabis farms of about 1.5 hectares each in Awe and Kokona Local Government Areas, its new commander CN Saidu Daniel said at Government House, Lafia. Governor Abdullahi Sule told the agency to search out and destroy cannabis farms on ungoverned land in the state.
NDLEA and soldiers destroyed a cannabis plantation covering 1.646 hectares at Eko Camp, near Illushi, Edo, on 28 October 2026. The agency estimated a potential yield of 4,115.53 kg and reported arresting a 50-year-old woman with 301 kg of processed cannabis.
State CID operatives on anti-crime patrol arrested Aondaver Dominic, Sylvanus Umoor and Peter Tar at Sabongida Bature and Gidan Kparev villages in Kadarko, Keana LGA, on 22 October 2026, recovering dry and fresh leaves suspected to be Indian hemp. A search of a garden behind the suspects' residence found more cannabis allegedly under cultivation; all exhibits were secured for NDLEA handover.
The NDLEA destroyed two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, on 18 October 2026, burning 450 kg of processed cannabis and keeping 97 kg as exhibits. A 42-year-old woman was arrested nearby with 35 kg.
