‘Reckless killings in Nigeria traced to
drugs’
Ever since operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement (NDLEA) started field operations, the raid and destruction of 184 hectares of cannabis plantations in Ondo State, seems to be the most challenging.
Like a scene drawn out of Hollywood, the operatives had gone into a forest in Ondo to carry out surveillance on cannabis traffickers, which lasted six months.
They had mixed with the residents, living from hand to mouth, while they scurried into forests at night and ferried information to headquarters by daylight. They knew that if their mission was discovered before completion, they would pay with their lives. Indeed, one of them described the operation, which was tagged, ‘Operation Wese,’ as “the mother of all operations!”
New Telegraph gathered that a combined team of 100 NDLEA officers, drawn from eight commands finally raided Wese Forest Reserve in Ondo State and destroyed 184 hectares of cannabis plantations.
NDLEA spokesman, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said that the raid, which lasted 72 hours, successfully led to the dismantling of a cannabis syndicate known as Akunnubas.
Akunnubas is a top notch syndicate, ran like a full fledge company. It has a Treasurer, Eke Sylvester, 37 and other five members of the association.
In the course of the operation, NDLEA dismantled the syndicate and arrested members of the gang.
The suspects have been identified as Friday Julius, 28, Azonobi Godwin, 21, Leke Cletus, 29, Festus Osagie, 30 and Charles Osanebi.
The busting of the syndicate also revealed the modes of operation of cannabis production syndicates and related implications for the country.
According to investigation, this full-blown drug-trafficking network has an Executive arm which oversees the administrative affairs of the group.
There is a Task Force that implements policies and decisions as well as a team of Advisers who serve as consultants to the group on legal and technical affairs.
Ofoyeju said: “In a surveillance operation which lasted for six months, the NDLEA was able to uncover the top hierarchy of Akunnubas. The chairman of the group by name, Akwuzonu is currently at large. The chief scribe of the syndicate is known as Saky, while Ojo is the manager of the group.
“The Task Force is headed by Babatunde also known as ‘Brazil.’ The treasurer of the Akunnubas, Eke Sylvester known as Okworo is among those apprehended during Operation Wese.”
Ofoyeju said that cannabis cultivators find their way into the heart of Forest Reserves, cut down economic trees and cultivate their deadly weeds. The clandestine activities of the drug cartel are not known by legitimate farmers, “because they do not go that far into the forest to cultivate their crops.”
On the day the operatives decided to strike, they woke up quite early, while many people were still in bed. They dressed silently in their combat clothes and moved out. The operatives, numbering about 100, drove into Wese Forest Reserve at Ipele area in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
After driving for over two hours along the narrow bush path, the team arrived at a point where the vehicles could no longer negotiate the rough terrain. The road was rendered impassable by the heavy rains.
They tried to push the vehicles and deployed all tricks of driving, but the vehicles would not move.
The team had to continue the rest of the journey on foot. Armed with rifles, the team made its way through the heavy forest until they located the first cannabis farm which had at its center, a makeshift tent which served as shelter for workers who provide security and look after the farm.
The tent was camouflaged by corn stalks strategically planted to conceal it from view.
The operatives quietly placed themselves in strategic positions. One of them was directed, by the team leader, in a muffled voice, to demobilize a sighted suspect. The suspect in question was shocked when a man crept behind and tackled him to the ground.
Immediately he was apprehended, the farm was cordoned.
Knowing timing was of the essence in the operation, the operatives quickly replaced their rifles, with machetes. The officers cut down acres of the cannabis farm and set the plants ablaze with the tent before continuing their search for more farms.
Within 50 metres, they discovered that several hectares had been cleared and converted into a large collection of cannabis farms.
The officers walked the length and breadth of each farm to accurately calculate the size of the farms. This continued until it was getting dark and the team withdrew to Akure NDLEA Command Office.
After a review of the day’s activities that night, the team rested few hours before setting out very early the following morning to continue the mission.
Along the bush path, one of the suspects, Festus Osagie was promptly apprehended while trying to escape on a motor bike with four bags of harvested cannabis weed. The three-day operation, led to the discovery and subsequent destruction of approximately 184 hectares (456 acres) of cannabis plantations.
Ofoyeju said that the cartel also has a cannabis processing factory equipped with compressing machines. He said that a seven kilo bag of cannabis can be compressed into the size of a loaf of bread. In this way, large quantities of cannabis are neatly concealed for export.
Common modes of concealment include the use of foodstuffs and fruits. Cannabis is hidden in drums of palm oil, bags of garri, beans and dried fish. Bags of cannabis are similarly hidden under truckloads of planks, plantains, bananas, yams, oranges, and mangoes.
“Some traffickers use bullion vans, smaller vehicles with tinted glass and official or diplomatic vehicle number plates or pose as security personnel to facilitate their drug-smuggling activities,” revealed Ofoyeju.
Numerous tankers with false-bottoms and even bearing the trademarks of major petroleum marketers have been found to contain cannabis.
He said: “As ingenious as are these methods employed by drug traffickers, anti-drug officials continue to battle them tirelessly. On one occasion, the NDLEA discovered a clandestine warehouse located in a residential building in Ibadan, Oyo State, where 83 tons of cannabis were stored.”
Cannabis constitutes over 90 percent of NDLEA’s drug seizures and represents the nation’s most serious drug challenge. Official records indicate that between 1990 when the NDLEA was established through 2013; the Agency made seizures totaling 3,583 tons of narcotics. Out of this figure, cannabis constitutes the largest share with 3,403 tons. Psychotropic substances are next with 156 tons, cocaine 20 tons and heroin 3 tons. These seizures by NDLEA from cannabis cultivators amount to over N50 trillion in denied cannabis sales and serves to shed light on the astoundingly lucrative nature of the illegal drug trade.
An elated chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade described the operation as a positive step towards the total dismantling of cannabis cartels in the country.
He enthused: “I am very pleased with the success of Operation Wese. This is obviously a positive step towards the eradication of cannabis cartels. I commend the officers for a great job. Let me assure members of the public that this is the beginning of total war against cannabis cultivation in the country.”
Since the commencement of ‘Operation Burn the Weed’ exercise in 1990, where NDLEA officials discovered and destroyed cannabis farms, the battle against cannabis cultivation has grown in leaps and bounds.
“There is no State that has not recorded cannabis farm destruction in Nigeria. From Lagos to Sokoto and from Adamawa to Rivers State, the story is practically the same,” said Ofoyeju.
Cannabis grows effortlessly across the length and breadth of the country. NDLEA statistics showed that large scale cultivation of cannabis occurs predominantly in the South West and South South States of Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Edo and Delta. The scope of cannabis cultivation has grown dangerously with grave security implications. Ofoyeju explained: “Cannabis plantations are located in deep forests, far beyond where legitimate farmers care to cultivate. The process is kick-started by cutting down trees to create room for sunlight at the nursery beds. It is from there the seedlings are transplanted to the farms. Much labour is required at the preparatory stages because it involves falling trees.”
The image maker said that investigation revealed that members of Akunnubas hire people to work in the farms. Part of the illegal workforce is drawn from minors and school age children.
“They are paid the sum of N10,000 monthly. The farmers are often armed with Dane guns, bows and arrows, and others weapons. According to the suspects arrested in the farm, there were more than 100 labourers working on the farms,” said Ofoyeju.
During the dry season, cannabis cultivators prefer locations closer to streams. They also dig wells to irrigate the farms if other water sources are not available. “In this way, cannabis cultivation can take place throughout the year.”
He noted that cannabis cultivation has taken a dangerous dimension with untold consequences for the entire country. The adverse environmental effects of large scale deforestation taking place at the cannabis plantations are alarming. This poses a serious threat to environmental safety and food security in the country.
“While the forest is being depleted, available farmland is speedily replaced with cannabis plants instead of food and cash crops. The school age children who abandon education to work as laborers soon begin to use the drug which adds to an already significant drug-using segment of the population,” said Ofoyeju.
Investigation by the Agency at various locations has revealed that farmers prefer to cultivate cannabis because of the huge profit margin.
Whereas a 50-kilo bag of rice costs about N10,000, a seven-kilo bag of cannabis sells for N50,000 or even for N100,000 at peak periods. At retail price on the street, a wrap of cannabis sells for between N50 and N100.
According to Ofoyeju, the formation of Akunnubas is an indication of the growing sophistication of the cannabis trade in Nigeria.
He added: “Violent confrontations between NDLEA and cannabis-producing and trafficking organizations have resulted in the deaths of over a 100 NDLEA officers in the last 20 years. Just in June 2014, three officers were killed in a mob attack while on official assignment in Owode, Ogun State.”
He continued: “The incident occurred during the arrest of one Azeez Babatunde, a notorious cannabis dealer. The three NDLEA officers who lost their lives, Bolaji Owolodun, Rabiu Usman Kazaure and Ishaku Joshua, were overwhelmed by a mob that supported the drug lord and murdered them in his defense, while other NDLEA officers barely escaped with their lives.
“The media is filled with news of gruesome murders involving off springs’ killing parents, friends, siblings and neighbours. There are also stories of husbands killing wives and vice versa. Recently, a 21- year old undergraduate student in Ogun State, Tolani Ajayi, killed his father, Barrister Charles Ajayi. The lifeless body of the deceased 60-year-old, who was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, was recovered in a box where his son had deposited him. Investigation revealed that the killing, like many others, was committed while the suspect was under the influence of drugs; namely, cannabis.”
At maturity, the cannabis farms are harvested, processed and stockpiled in a clandestine warehouse. It is from the warehouse that it is smuggled to other parts of the country and abroad.
The 2014 World Drug Report has scored Nigeria highest in cannabis seizure in Africa.
“Nigeria remains the country with the largest seizures of cannabis in the region followed by Egypt,” the report noted.
Cannabis produced locally is not only for domestic consumption but also exported to other African nations. Most cannabis packaged for export had been seized by operatives of the NDLEA.
In South America, drug trafficking have provided a steady source of income for terror groups such as Colombia’s FARC and AUC and it cannot be ruled out that homegrown groups could also reap huge rewards from the trade.
Giade reiterated his determination towards eradication of narcotic drugs in the country, adding: “The battle line is drawn and there is no going back. The activities of drug cartels must be resisted at all levels. Let us deploy every resource at our disposal in drug control programs. The ultimate goal is to cut off drug supply and reduce the demand for drugs.”
In view of the latest trend, there is an urgent need for a serious focus of government attention on cannabis cultivation and efforts must be made by government to eradicate it. The illicit cannabis farmers’ associations should be proscribed, condemned and members diligently prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
NDLEA should be provided with equipment, tools, and training equal to the task of combatting elusive and clandestine organizations that spare no expense to protect their investments.
Ever since operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement (NDLEA) started field operations, the raid and destruction of 184 hectares of cannabis plantations in Ondo State, seems to be the most challenging.
Like a scene drawn out of Hollywood, the operatives had gone into a forest in Ondo to carry out surveillance on cannabis traffickers, which lasted six months.
They had mixed with the residents, living from hand to mouth, while they scurried into forests at night and ferried information to headquarters by daylight. They knew that if their mission was discovered before completion, they would pay with their lives. Indeed, one of them described the operation, which was tagged, ‘Operation Wese,’ as “the mother of all operations!”
New Telegraph gathered that a combined team of 100 NDLEA officers, drawn from eight commands finally raided Wese Forest Reserve in Ondo State and destroyed 184 hectares of cannabis plantations.
NDLEA spokesman, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said that the raid, which lasted 72 hours, successfully led to the dismantling of a cannabis syndicate known as Akunnubas.
Akunnubas is a top notch syndicate, ran like a full fledge company. It has a Treasurer, Eke Sylvester, 37 and other five members of the association.
In the course of the operation, NDLEA dismantled the syndicate and arrested members of the gang.
The suspects have been identified as Friday Julius, 28, Azonobi Godwin, 21, Leke Cletus, 29, Festus Osagie, 30 and Charles Osanebi.
The busting of the syndicate also revealed the modes of operation of cannabis production syndicates and related implications for the country.
According to investigation, this full-blown drug-trafficking network has an Executive arm which oversees the administrative affairs of the group.
There is a Task Force that implements policies and decisions as well as a team of Advisers who serve as consultants to the group on legal and technical affairs.
Ofoyeju said: “In a surveillance operation which lasted for six months, the NDLEA was able to uncover the top hierarchy of Akunnubas. The chairman of the group by name, Akwuzonu is currently at large. The chief scribe of the syndicate is known as Saky, while Ojo is the manager of the group.
“The Task Force is headed by Babatunde also known as ‘Brazil.’ The treasurer of the Akunnubas, Eke Sylvester known as Okworo is among those apprehended during Operation Wese.”
Ofoyeju said that cannabis cultivators find their way into the heart of Forest Reserves, cut down economic trees and cultivate their deadly weeds. The clandestine activities of the drug cartel are not known by legitimate farmers, “because they do not go that far into the forest to cultivate their crops.”
On the day the operatives decided to strike, they woke up quite early, while many people were still in bed. They dressed silently in their combat clothes and moved out. The operatives, numbering about 100, drove into Wese Forest Reserve at Ipele area in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
After driving for over two hours along the narrow bush path, the team arrived at a point where the vehicles could no longer negotiate the rough terrain. The road was rendered impassable by the heavy rains.
They tried to push the vehicles and deployed all tricks of driving, but the vehicles would not move.
The team had to continue the rest of the journey on foot. Armed with rifles, the team made its way through the heavy forest until they located the first cannabis farm which had at its center, a makeshift tent which served as shelter for workers who provide security and look after the farm.
The tent was camouflaged by corn stalks strategically planted to conceal it from view.
The operatives quietly placed themselves in strategic positions. One of them was directed, by the team leader, in a muffled voice, to demobilize a sighted suspect. The suspect in question was shocked when a man crept behind and tackled him to the ground.
Immediately he was apprehended, the farm was cordoned.
Knowing timing was of the essence in the operation, the operatives quickly replaced their rifles, with machetes. The officers cut down acres of the cannabis farm and set the plants ablaze with the tent before continuing their search for more farms.
Within 50 metres, they discovered that several hectares had been cleared and converted into a large collection of cannabis farms.
The officers walked the length and breadth of each farm to accurately calculate the size of the farms. This continued until it was getting dark and the team withdrew to Akure NDLEA Command Office.
After a review of the day’s activities that night, the team rested few hours before setting out very early the following morning to continue the mission.
Along the bush path, one of the suspects, Festus Osagie was promptly apprehended while trying to escape on a motor bike with four bags of harvested cannabis weed. The three-day operation, led to the discovery and subsequent destruction of approximately 184 hectares (456 acres) of cannabis plantations.
Ofoyeju said that the cartel also has a cannabis processing factory equipped with compressing machines. He said that a seven kilo bag of cannabis can be compressed into the size of a loaf of bread. In this way, large quantities of cannabis are neatly concealed for export.
Common modes of concealment include the use of foodstuffs and fruits. Cannabis is hidden in drums of palm oil, bags of garri, beans and dried fish. Bags of cannabis are similarly hidden under truckloads of planks, plantains, bananas, yams, oranges, and mangoes.
“Some traffickers use bullion vans, smaller vehicles with tinted glass and official or diplomatic vehicle number plates or pose as security personnel to facilitate their drug-smuggling activities,” revealed Ofoyeju.
Numerous tankers with false-bottoms and even bearing the trademarks of major petroleum marketers have been found to contain cannabis.
He said: “As ingenious as are these methods employed by drug traffickers, anti-drug officials continue to battle them tirelessly. On one occasion, the NDLEA discovered a clandestine warehouse located in a residential building in Ibadan, Oyo State, where 83 tons of cannabis were stored.”
Cannabis constitutes over 90 percent of NDLEA’s drug seizures and represents the nation’s most serious drug challenge. Official records indicate that between 1990 when the NDLEA was established through 2013; the Agency made seizures totaling 3,583 tons of narcotics. Out of this figure, cannabis constitutes the largest share with 3,403 tons. Psychotropic substances are next with 156 tons, cocaine 20 tons and heroin 3 tons. These seizures by NDLEA from cannabis cultivators amount to over N50 trillion in denied cannabis sales and serves to shed light on the astoundingly lucrative nature of the illegal drug trade.
An elated chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade described the operation as a positive step towards the total dismantling of cannabis cartels in the country.
He enthused: “I am very pleased with the success of Operation Wese. This is obviously a positive step towards the eradication of cannabis cartels. I commend the officers for a great job. Let me assure members of the public that this is the beginning of total war against cannabis cultivation in the country.”
Since the commencement of ‘Operation Burn the Weed’ exercise in 1990, where NDLEA officials discovered and destroyed cannabis farms, the battle against cannabis cultivation has grown in leaps and bounds.
“There is no State that has not recorded cannabis farm destruction in Nigeria. From Lagos to Sokoto and from Adamawa to Rivers State, the story is practically the same,” said Ofoyeju.
Cannabis grows effortlessly across the length and breadth of the country. NDLEA statistics showed that large scale cultivation of cannabis occurs predominantly in the South West and South South States of Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Edo and Delta. The scope of cannabis cultivation has grown dangerously with grave security implications. Ofoyeju explained: “Cannabis plantations are located in deep forests, far beyond where legitimate farmers care to cultivate. The process is kick-started by cutting down trees to create room for sunlight at the nursery beds. It is from there the seedlings are transplanted to the farms. Much labour is required at the preparatory stages because it involves falling trees.”
The image maker said that investigation revealed that members of Akunnubas hire people to work in the farms. Part of the illegal workforce is drawn from minors and school age children.
“They are paid the sum of N10,000 monthly. The farmers are often armed with Dane guns, bows and arrows, and others weapons. According to the suspects arrested in the farm, there were more than 100 labourers working on the farms,” said Ofoyeju.
During the dry season, cannabis cultivators prefer locations closer to streams. They also dig wells to irrigate the farms if other water sources are not available. “In this way, cannabis cultivation can take place throughout the year.”
He noted that cannabis cultivation has taken a dangerous dimension with untold consequences for the entire country. The adverse environmental effects of large scale deforestation taking place at the cannabis plantations are alarming. This poses a serious threat to environmental safety and food security in the country.
“While the forest is being depleted, available farmland is speedily replaced with cannabis plants instead of food and cash crops. The school age children who abandon education to work as laborers soon begin to use the drug which adds to an already significant drug-using segment of the population,” said Ofoyeju.
Investigation by the Agency at various locations has revealed that farmers prefer to cultivate cannabis because of the huge profit margin.
Whereas a 50-kilo bag of rice costs about N10,000, a seven-kilo bag of cannabis sells for N50,000 or even for N100,000 at peak periods. At retail price on the street, a wrap of cannabis sells for between N50 and N100.
According to Ofoyeju, the formation of Akunnubas is an indication of the growing sophistication of the cannabis trade in Nigeria.
He added: “Violent confrontations between NDLEA and cannabis-producing and trafficking organizations have resulted in the deaths of over a 100 NDLEA officers in the last 20 years. Just in June 2014, three officers were killed in a mob attack while on official assignment in Owode, Ogun State.”
He continued: “The incident occurred during the arrest of one Azeez Babatunde, a notorious cannabis dealer. The three NDLEA officers who lost their lives, Bolaji Owolodun, Rabiu Usman Kazaure and Ishaku Joshua, were overwhelmed by a mob that supported the drug lord and murdered them in his defense, while other NDLEA officers barely escaped with their lives.
“The media is filled with news of gruesome murders involving off springs’ killing parents, friends, siblings and neighbours. There are also stories of husbands killing wives and vice versa. Recently, a 21- year old undergraduate student in Ogun State, Tolani Ajayi, killed his father, Barrister Charles Ajayi. The lifeless body of the deceased 60-year-old, who was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, was recovered in a box where his son had deposited him. Investigation revealed that the killing, like many others, was committed while the suspect was under the influence of drugs; namely, cannabis.”
At maturity, the cannabis farms are harvested, processed and stockpiled in a clandestine warehouse. It is from the warehouse that it is smuggled to other parts of the country and abroad.
The 2014 World Drug Report has scored Nigeria highest in cannabis seizure in Africa.
“Nigeria remains the country with the largest seizures of cannabis in the region followed by Egypt,” the report noted.
Cannabis produced locally is not only for domestic consumption but also exported to other African nations. Most cannabis packaged for export had been seized by operatives of the NDLEA.
In South America, drug trafficking have provided a steady source of income for terror groups such as Colombia’s FARC and AUC and it cannot be ruled out that homegrown groups could also reap huge rewards from the trade.
Giade reiterated his determination towards eradication of narcotic drugs in the country, adding: “The battle line is drawn and there is no going back. The activities of drug cartels must be resisted at all levels. Let us deploy every resource at our disposal in drug control programs. The ultimate goal is to cut off drug supply and reduce the demand for drugs.”
In view of the latest trend, there is an urgent need for a serious focus of government attention on cannabis cultivation and efforts must be made by government to eradicate it. The illicit cannabis farmers’ associations should be proscribed, condemned and members diligently prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
NDLEA should be provided with equipment, tools, and training equal to the task of combatting elusive and clandestine organizations that spare no expense to protect their investments.
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