NDLEA destroys 28,000 kg of cannabis in Edo forest, repels armed attack
NDLEA operatives destroyed over 28,000 kg of skunk cannabis on three plantations covering 11 hectares in the Ewere Uzebba forest of Edo State on 8 July 2025, and fought off an armed ambush by cartel members while leaving, with no casualties.
🇳🇬 Ewere Uzebba forest, Owan West, Edo State · Nigeria
NDLEA operatives destroyed 28,054.053 kg of skunk, a potent local strain of cannabis,
on three large plantations spanning over 11 hectares in the Ewere Uzebba forest of Owan
West Local Government Area, Edo State, on 8 July 2025.[1][2][3]Officers also found 82 kg
of processed cannabis inside a hut on the illicit farms.[1]
As the team left the forest, armed members of the cannabis cultivating syndicate seeking
revenge opened heavy gunfire on them.[1][2]The officers returned fire with superior gun
power and brought the situation under control without casualties, though one operational
vehicle was riddled with bullets.[1][2]
Edo State commander Mitchel Ofoyeju disclosed the operation to journalists in Benin,
praising his officers’ courage and saying the command would not be intimidated by the
attack.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
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.
