Mr Alfred
Adewumi, NDLEA Commander in the state, made the disclosure while addressing
newsmen shortly after the destruction of the farm on Wednesday in Okula.
The National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kogi Command, has destroyed a 10-hectare
Cannabis Sativa (Indian hemp) plantation in Okula community, Ofu Local
Government Area of the state.
He decried
the increasing rate of illicit use and cultivation of cannabis Sativa in the
state.
Adewumi explained
that the alleged cannabis farmer, Clement Akor, a 42-year-old man from Enabo in
Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi, was arrested alongside his accomplice,
David Ameh, through intelligence gathering.
The commander
noted that the discovery and destruction of the hemp farm came three days after
the arrest of the duo of Endurance Samson and Abah Sunday, caught with 36.2
kilogrammes wraps of cannabis Sativa.
Adewumi said
that the command was committed to stamp out illicit drugs production and use
from the state and would chase dealers to their roots.
He said:
“Seeing, they say, is believing. What you are seeing today is certainly more
than three football fields put together. I want you to make your judgement. Just
look around at the huge expanse of a cannabis farm.
“We just left
the first farm which is equally a huge cannabis plantation. This is very
unfortunate. I am worried about this unfortunate development. I have thought
that Kogi will not descend to this point.
“As things
stand today, it will be direct self-denial to say that people are not planting
cannabis Sativa because the evidence itself suggests the fact that there is
high planting of cannabis Sativa in the state.
“Kogi is a
gateway to many other states in the North, South, East and Western parts of
this country. I have promised at the point of my deployment that I won’t give
room for anybody to turn Kogi to a drug cultivation state.
“And because
of that, we have spread out our tentacles and reached out as far as possible
with intelligence gathering. The result is what you are seeing today.”
The News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suspected cannabis farmer, Akor, had
pleaded with the NDLEA officials to rather take his life than destroy his farm.
Akor claimed
to have invested so much on the farm and could not afford to lose it saying, “I
am the owner of this farm. Just kill me, so that I won’t watch you, people,
destroy what I have laboured for.
He said that
he opted for the cultivation of Indian hemp as a means of survival instead of
engaging in criminal activities such as armed robbery and Kidnapping.
NAN
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