Ogun State NDLEA commander tackles Sowore over call for legalisation of cannabis

The Ogun State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Commander Tijjani Rabe, has defended the agency’s enforcement activities against illicit cannabis cultivation while responding to activist and presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore’s call for the legalisation of cannabis in Nigeria.

Rabe, in a recent statement, said the NDLEA’s operations were guided by Nigerian law and aimed at protecting citizens from the harmful effects of drug abuse, stressing that the agency did not destroy cannabis farms arbitrarily.

He highlighted the agency’s record over the past five years, saying it had seized large quantities of illicit drugs, disrupted trafficking networks and prevented substances from reaching homes, schools, barracks and motor parks.

According to him, the NDLEA’s responsibilities also include counselling and rehabilitating people affected by drug abuse, as well as dismantling transnational cartels whose activities contribute to kidnapping, banditry and arms trafficking.

Rabe criticised what he described as insults against law enforcement agencies, saying anyone seeking to become Nigeria’s Commander-in-Chief should not denigrate personnel who would ultimately serve under that command.

He noted that Sowore’s call for cannabis legalisation should be approached with caution, arguing that Nigeria must first strengthen its regulatory systems, laboratories, prescription monitoring, rehabilitation centres and mechanisms for tracking cannabis production.

Rabe warned that legalisation without adequate safeguards could strengthen the illicit market, noting that some cannabis farms were allegedly controlled by armed networks involved in trafficking and violence. He advocated medical research and alternative development programmes for farmers instead of immediate legalisation.

“Until that foundation exists, NDLEA will continue to do what the law demands of us: interdict, destroy, and save lives. That is not ‘idiotic’, Sir. That is duty,” Rabe said.