Human rights activist and African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore criticised the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Nigeria, over the destruction of cannabis plantations in Edo State, arguing that NDLEA cannabis farm destruction is wasting potential economic opportunities while the country faces persistent poverty.
Sowore made the criticism in a post on X after the NDLEA Edo State Command announced that it had destroyed two cannabis plantations with an estimated yield of 4,628.9 kilogrammes and arrested 10 suspected drug traffickers in separate operations.
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Sowore argued that Nigeria should move away from what he considers an outdated prohibition-focused approach and instead establish a regulated cannabis industry capable of generating employment, supporting research and creating government revenue.
“It is idiotic @ndlea_nigeria wake up, put on uniforms, march into farms, and set economically viable crops worth millions of dollars ablaze while your country is drowning in multidimensional poverty,” Sowore wrote.
“Stop destroying cannabis farms.
Stop wasting enormous economic opportunities in the name of a failed and outdated policy.”
The comments came a day after Edo NDLEA Commander, Dr Mitchell Ofoyeju, announced the destruction of the two plantations and the arrest of suspects in separate operations across the state.
The first plantation, located at Ugboku in the Igbanke Forest area of Orhionmwon Local Government Area, covered 0.699792 hectares and had an estimated yield of 1,749.26kg, according to the NDLEA.
A 40-year-old man, Agholor Elebojie, was arrested in connection with the plantation.
The second plantation measured 1.151889 hectares and had an estimated yield of 2,879.7225kg. NDLEA operatives also recovered two bags of processed cannabis sativa weighing 12.4kg from the location.
The agency said the operations were conducted following credible intelligence and formed part of an ongoing nationwide effort to dismantle illicit drug production and trafficking networks.
The wider Edo operation also resulted in the arrest of 10 suspected male drug traffickers.
At Oluku in Ovia North-East Local Government Area, 28-year-old Kingsley Anigala was arrested on August 14 with 25.857kg of cannabis and 93 grammes of methamphetamine, according to the NDLEA.
At Abuja Quarters in Oredo Local Government Area of Benin City, nine suspects were arrested on August 13 with cannabis sativa, loud, tramadol, diazepam, Swinol, Danabol and methamphetamine. The suspects have been taken into custody while investigations continue.
The NDLEA’s position is fundamentally different from Sowore’s.
The agency has a statutory mandate to prevent illicit production, cultivation, trafficking and possession of controlled substances, and it regards cannabis cultivation outside the legal framework as part of the country’s drug-control challenge.
Nigeria’s existing legal framework also prohibits the unauthorised cultivation of cannabis.
The Indian Hemp Act makes the planting or cultivation of cannabis an offence, meaning that the farms targeted in Edo cannot simply be treated as conventional agricultural enterprises under current Nigerian law.
However, the economic argument raised by Sowore intersects with a policy debate already taking place within the government itself.
In January 2026, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) launched an Alternative Development Project designed to persuade communities involved in illicit cannabis cultivation to move towards lawful crops and sustainable livelihoods.
The pilot scheme began in three cannabis-growing communities in Ondo State.
Rather than relying solely on enforcement, the programme seeks to address some of the economic conditions that encourage illicit cultivation by providing farmers with alternative agricultural opportunities.
Marwa has described the approach as “empowerment as an alternative to enforcement”, arguing that communities should be supported to transition away from illicit crops towards legitimate food and cash-crop production.
The NDLEA has also pointed to the scale of cannabis use in Nigeria as a major reason for maintaining a firm enforcement position.
The agency said an estimated 10.6 million adults reported using cannabis in the year covered by the 2018 National Drug Use Survey, while nearly 8,900 hectares of land in high-risk areas of the South-West were estimated to be under cannabis cultivation.
That public-health dimension complicates the economic case for legalisation.
Nigeria’s Federal Government said in July that its drug-control policy should combine public health, security, prevention, treatment and access to essential controlled medicines, signalling a broader approach than enforcement alone.
Sowore, however, is calling for a more fundamental change. He said a properly regulated cannabis sector could allow Nigeria to benefit from the plant’s potential medicinal and industrial applications while creating jobs and generating revenue.
“Legalize and properly regulate cannabis. Invest in research, harness its legitimate medicinal and industrial potential, create jobs, generate revenue, and build an industry Nigerians can benefit from,” he said.
The debate is therefore not simply about whether cannabis has economic value.
It is about whether Nigeria should continue to treat cultivation primarily as a criminal and public-health threat or explore a regulated commercial model alongside strict controls on recreational misuse.
For now, the government has shown no indication of abandoning its prohibition of illicit cannabis cultivation.
Instead, the NDLEA is pursuing a dual strategy of enforcement and alternative livelihoods, with the latter intended to reduce the economic incentives behind illegal farming.
The Edo operation illustrates the enforcement side of that policy, while Sowore’s intervention has brought the economic argument back into public view.
As Nigeria searches for ways to expand legitimate agricultural income, employment and government revenue, the cannabis debate is likely to remain politically and economically sensitive.
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The immediate question is whether alternative-development programmes can offer farmers a sufficiently attractive legal livelihood while the country continues its campaign against illicit drug production.
