Sunday, February 22, 2026 l Dalena News Desk
ABUJA, NIGERIA — In an expansive crackdown on illicit drug production and trafficking, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 68-year-old grandmother and several other suspects while destroying illegal cannabis farms in Edo State’s forests, as part of coordinated anti-narcotics operations across multiple states.
The NDLEA announced that its officers raided Etiosa Camp in Owan West Local Government Area, Edo State, where they destroyed 1,266.8475 kilograms of skunk (a potent strain of cannabis) planted on several plots of farmland. During the same operation, authorities recovered 23 kilograms of processed cannabis and arrested two individuals, including the 68-year-old grandmother identified as Evelyn Ogenewu and a 43-year-old man named Friday Iruoje.
The drug raids formed part of a larger series of interdictions carried out by the agency in Lagos, Bauchi, Ondo, Delta, and Kogi States, where officers seized significant quantities of cannabis, tramadol pills, codeine-based syrups, and other illicit substances. In Lagos, a separate arrest was made in Agbara, where a suspect was linked to 56 kilograms of skunk recovered on Thursday, February 19; other arrests and drug recoveries were reported in Oshodi, Rivers State’s Onne Port, and Kogi State’s Okene–Lokoja highway corridor.
NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, emphasised that the operations were part of the agency’s intensified War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, aimed at dismantling drug supply chains from cultivation and processing to distribution across Nigeria. Authorities underscored that the destruction of cannabis farms and the arrest of suspects were intended to curb the availability of illegal narcotics and reduce demand among communities.
The grandmother’s arrest drew attention as an unusual facet of the crackdown, highlighting that drug enforcement efforts can affect a wide range of individuals even older residents when suspected of involvement in illicit drug activities. While details about her alleged role were not immediately disclosed, her apprehension alongside a large cache of processed cannabis points to the agency’s broad net in targeting suspected cultivators and traffickers.
The NDLEA’s coordinated actions reflect ongoing efforts by the federal government to stem the cultivation and transport of illegal drugs throughout the country, particularly in regions where forests and rural areas have long been exploited for cannabis farming. Observers say such enforcement operations are crucial to addressing the persistent challenge posed by narcotics trafficking and its associated social harms.