• Marwa seeks backing for alternative livelihoods for cannabis farmers
•Anti-drug agency arrests 1,200 traffickers, seizes 30 tonnes in Edo
•Monarch announces return of 40 looted artefacts from Sweden
Michael Olugbode in Abuja and Felix Omoh-Asun in Benin City
The Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, and the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, have assured the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) of their support for its campaign against drug trafficking and substance abuse, pledging to mobilise government and traditional institutions to strengthen the fight.
The assurances came yesterday, when the Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), led a delegation of the agency to Government House and the palace of the Oba of Benin in Benin City, where he sought their backing for an intensified campaign against illicit drugs.
The engagements came amid fresh concerns over the scale of drug trafficking and substance abuse in Edo State, where the NDLEA said it arrested more than 1,200 suspected traffickers and seized over 30 tonnes of illicit substances in 2025.
A major focus of Marwa’s engagements was the agency’s Alternative Development Programme, designed to persuade cannabis farmers to abandon illicit cultivation for legitimate agriculture, including cassava, yam and maize.
The intervention signals a shift beyond arrests and seizures towards confronting the economic incentives sustaining cannabis production, particularly in communities where illicit cultivation has become a source of livelihood.
At Government House, Benin City, Governor Okpebholo pledged his administration’s full cooperation with the agency, describing illicit drugs as a major underlying factor in criminal activities, including kidnapping.
“At the root of virtually every crime is the issue of drugs. From our experience, even kidnappers first ask their victims for drugs before demanding ransom. That shows that illicit drug is our enemy,” the governor said.
He commended the NDLEA’s operations in Edo and assured Marwa that his administration would provide the necessary support to strengthen the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
“Your officers and men in Edo are doing excellent work. We are ready to work with you, we are ready to partner with you, and we are ready to support you with any request you bring before us,” he said.
The governor was subsequently decorated as a War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) Grand Ambassador in recognition of his commitment to the anti-drug campaign.
Marwa said the Alternative Development Programme was particularly important because enforcement alone could not permanently address the problem of illicit cultivation without providing farmers with economically viable alternatives.
He explained that Nigeria had become the first country in Africa to adopt alternative development as a strategic pillar of drug control, adding that the initiative had received the endorsement of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Federal Government under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to him, the programme recognises that farmers must be given sustainable economic options if they are to abandon a crop that offers attractive financial returns but exposes them to criminal prosecution.
“The growers themselves have confided in us that they are grateful for this initiative. Even though there is more money in cannabis, they will at least have peace of mind when they cultivate licit crops. With cannabis, they are perpetually ill at ease in their homes with their families for fear of NDLEA,” he said.
Marwa disclosed that the pilot phase of the programme had been launched in Ondo State in January, adding that Edo would be the next state to benefit from the initiative following the governor’s acceptance.
Under the programme, cannabis farmers are encouraged to switch to legitimate crops, with government support through farm inputs and the provision of essential community infrastructure, including roads, schools, clinics and water facilities.
At the palace of the Oba of Benin, Marwa sought the monarch’s intervention in persuading communities across the Benin Kingdom to stay away from cannabis cultivation and drug trading.
He described drug abuse as one of the three leading problems confronting Nigeria, disclosing that more than 15 million Nigerians abuse drugs, a prevalence rate he said was approximately three times the global average.
The NDLEA chairman warned that the menace had penetrated schools and communities, making the involvement of traditional rulers indispensable to efforts to prevent a further deterioration of the situation.
He disclosed that cannabis accounted for 75 per cent of the 16 million kilogrammes of assorted illicit substances seized nationwide by the agency in the last five years, underscoring the significance of locally cultivated cannabis to the country’s drug problem.
Marwa urged traditional rulers, religious organisations, civil society groups and the media to complement the agency’s enforcement operations with sustained community-level advocacy.
“It is the job of the NDLEA to enforce the law against drug trafficking, and as well help those who are addicted to drugs with counselling, treatment and rehabilitation. But this is an assignment that we cannot do alone. It is a whole-of-society approach,” he said.
He described traditional institutions as particularly influential in mobilising communities, noting that their authority and public acceptance made them indispensable allies in the campaign.
The NDLEA chairman also commended the Oba for his interventions against social problems, including kidnapping and human trafficking, and said the monarch’s efforts had contributed to reducing human trafficking in the kingdom.
Responding, Oba Ewuare II thanked Marwa for recognising the contributions of the Benin Kingdom to the fight against drug abuse and other social problems.
The monarch acknowledged the importance of collective efforts in addressing societal challenges and commended the NDLEA chairman for his work against drug abuse and other social problems.
He, however, indicated that he had recommendations for improving the agency’s operations, which he preferred to communicate privately.
“I have a suggestion that I will make in writing to NDLEA. I would not want to state it here in public. I want to put it quietly as my own thinking on how to improve the work of NDLEA,” he said.
The monarch also disclosed that 40 more artefacts looted from the Oba’s Palace during the British invasion in 1897 were expected in Benin City within the week from Sweden.
According to him, a delegation would be going to Lagos to receive the artefacts from the Swedish Museum.
“More and more artefacts are coming, the delegation will be handed over 40 artifacts from the Swedish Museum,” he said.
Oba Ewuare scolded those he said wanted to reloot the artefacts, saying the Palace had battled attempts to reloot what was originally looted.
“We battled prospective relooters of our artefacts, we battled them,” he said.
He noted that the Palace had relentlessly resisted attempts by people to reloot the artefacts, adding that he had vowed that it would never happen while he remained on the throne.
Beyond the palace and Government House engagements, Marwa extended the mobilisation campaign to the transport sector, meeting leaders of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Edo State, led by Comrade Saturday Oamen.
He urged transport operators to deploy their networks and influence to discourage drug abuse and trafficking among drivers and other members, particularly in motor parks, which he identified as important spaces for community-level sensitisation.
The NDLEA chairman was also scheduled to engage religious and civil society leaders as part of efforts to build a broader coalition against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.