NDLEA destroys 40-hectare cannabis plantation in Kogi, arrests owner
NDLEA officers destroyed more than 40 hectares of cannabis farms valued at over N1.5 billion at Agba-Okete in Kogi State on 6 October 2020. The suspected owner of one of the farms, 29-year-old Ameh Joseph, was arrested and was to face charges while the owners of the other farms were still sought.
🇳🇬 Agba-Okete, Igalamela-Odolu LGA, Kogi State · Nigeria
Officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kogi State, joined by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), stormed cannabis farms at Kara forest in Agba-Okete community, Igalamela-Odolu Local Government Area, and destroyed more than 40 hectares of cannabis sativa spreading over about four kilometres.[1]The state commander led more than 80 officers in the operation, which he described as the largest cannabis plantation ever discovered in the state, and said the destroyed crop was worth over N1.5 billion.[1][2]
The officers arrested 29-year-old Ameh Joseph, who admitted owning a section of the farms and said he had turned to cannabis cultivation after his legitimate business collapsed.[1]Joseph said he had previously worked as a farm manager in charge of cannabis sativa at Ogbese in Ondo State on a yearly salary of between N85,000 and N100,000.[1]
A community of growers
The commander said intelligence showed an entire community in the eastern part of the state where cannabis cultivation was the major source of livelihood, a discovery that shocked him because Kogi had been assumed to be only a transit point for the drug.[1]He said Joseph, the prime suspect and owner of one of the farms, would soon be charged to court while efforts continued to arrest the owners of the other farms, and he warned growers to desist.[1][2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
This report dates the operation to Tuesday 6 October 2020 from the commander's Tuesday-evening briefing, while the Vanguard-derived account describes the destruction as happening on Wednesday.
The Vanguard-derived account puts the destroyed area at over 35 hectares against the commander's figure of over 40 hectares used here.
No figure for the number of cannabis plants destroyed or the number of separate farms was published.
The owners of the other farms had not been arrested and no court outcome for Ameh Joseph was reported.
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.
