by
It looks
lonely and thick from outside but inside it are greenish and flourishing
plants. In Ondo State, it’s likened to ‘Sambisa Forest’; very bushy, vast and
stretched for over 50 kilometres.
Nobody goes
there, except those who have illicit dealing with cannabis. Welcome to 244
hectares of cannabis plantation at Epele Forest Reserve, Ondo State.
Prior to its
fall, Monday, August 25, 2014, it was a no-go-area and those who venture to
enter it, paid for it. And for years they operated like fiefdom, the estate or
domain of a feudal drug lords. It was something over which the drug cartel in
Ondo State dominated and controlled.
The fiefdom,
244 hectares of cannabis plantation at Epele Forest Reserve, had barriers that
make its entry a difficult one to anyone who doesn't know better.
But on that
day, when it fall to the fire power might of the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency, NDLEA, its barrier couldn’t withstand the heat of the agency and within
a match scratch, it went into flames, destroying over N20billion value
plantation.
That was how
NDLEA took over the 50 hectares of cannabis plantation at Epele Forest Reserve.
It took 70 NDLEA officers drawn from South West State Commands as well as 50
labourers to bring to an end the destruction of the illicit forest reserve. The
event was a product of a special operation involving over 120 operatives.
Chairman/Chief
Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmadu Giade
described cannabis cultivation as a threat to national security. Giade made the
observation during the destruction of the plantation.
He vowed to
prosecute forest guards who turn a blind eye to criminal activities and anyone
who connive with cannabis cultivators. “The
NDLEA will not hesitate to prosecute any forest guard who aids and abets
cannabis cultivators. Cannabis constitutes a serious threat to security and the
NDLEA is determined to eradicate narcotic drugs”, Giade stated.
“Cannabis
use can induce rape, unprotected sex, political violence, murder, militancy and
many more. This is the second cannabis farm destruction within the past one
month and this shall be a continuous exercise until cannabis cultivation is
completely eradicated. The first one was 184 hectares while this one is 50
hectares. We are looking forward with optimism to a time when farmers will
abandon cannabis for only food and cash crops”.
The NDLEA
director of Operations and Investigation, Mr. Olugbenga Mabo led the operation
which was attended by the Ondo State Commander, Mr. Walter Nicholas, Assistant
Director, Operations, Mr. Fred Ezeora, Ondo State Assistant Commander
Operations, Mr. Femi Agboalu and other principal officers.
Mabo said that
cannabis farm destruction was a proactive strategy to cut off cannabis supply
which affects the image of the country.
“We achieve more when we destroy cannabis
farms than waiting to intercept the drug after it had been harvested by the
cultivators. When citizens get caught for trafficking in cannabis outside the
country, the image of Nigeria is affected. Let me commend the officers that
participated in this assignment because, they walked for over four hours and
worked in the rain all night long”, the director he added.
“They
crossed over many rivers and surmounted several obstacles to get the job done.
Drug control is a hazardous job but we are working very hard to overcome our
logistic challenges such as inadequate vehicles and funds”
The
destruction of the plantation wasn’t a tea party for the officials of NDLEA and
combined team of army and police that assisted in the operation because typical
cannabis farm operation requires strong will and intelligence. Officers walk
for several hours in a lonely forest path to locate the farms.
“The road is
muddy and slippery. As a result, falling down and getting up again was a normal
experience all through the journey. All the officers who left the Akure Command
Office wearing a clean look later came back dirty and tired”, Mitchell Ofoyeju,
told Daily Newswatch.
“One of the
suspects whose farm was among those destroyed, Charles Osanebi, told NDLEA
investigators that he would have harvested 40 bags of cannabis from his farm”.
According to
him, “this is my first time of cultivating cannabis in this forest. I was
introduced into cannabis cultivation because I needed money. My farm which was
destroyed would have given me a minimum of 40 bags of cannabis, monthly. Nobody
can go into the forest to cultivate cannabis without paying money. We usually
settle the forest guards. However, I pray for forgiveness because I have learnt
my lessons.”
Meanwhile,
Nigeria is expected to get a new National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) in
September 2014, when President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan endorses the final draft
which would soon be sent to the presidency.
Daily
Newswatch gathered that the implementation of the proposed Master Plan was
expected to take effect from 2015 to 2019.
According to
NDLEA managers, this policy document would provide a road map for the nation’s
anti-narcotic campaign and is expected to be a product with elaborate
deliberations and consultations by an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC),
departments, agencies and experts, which was to be anchored by the National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Chairman/Chief
Executive of the Agency, Giade while applauding members of the committee for
their diligence called for more support for drug control programmes.
“I am pleased with the commitment of the
committee members and the rich content of the draft plan. The Agency shall work
with relevant organisations towards the full implementation of the Plan. We
incorporated ministries, organisations and agencies because everyone has a role
to play in the control of drugs”.
Giade
thanked the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European
Union (EU) for their technical assistance to Nigeria’s fight against drug
production, trafficking and consumption as well as related organized crimes.
NDLEA
Director General, Mrs. Roli Bode-George presided over the meeting of senior
representatives from thirty ministries, departments and agencies that ended
last weekend in Lagos. The major task before the meeting was the formulation of
a Master Plan that would run for the next four years beginning in 2015.
The master
plan would among other things provide a roadmap for the government of Nigeria
and its ministries, departments and agencies to enhance the response to the
drug situation in Nigeria.
“It seeks a
balanced approach to improve the response to the supply or production of
illicit drugs and efforts to reduce the demand for drugs”, Ofoyeju added.
According to
Mrs. Bode-George, “there is need for an evidence-based approach to the
development of the Master Plan. Each ministry, department and agency must be
deeply committed to the implementation of the plan by incorporating it into
their respective operational plans. This will provide a wider platform for
stakeholders to collectively address the complex drug problem”.
Two
international experts, Dr. Ugi Zvekic and Professor Moruf Adelekan were also
engaged by the UNODC in the drafting of the new plan. The meeting was one of
the eight stages designed to develop a comprehensive drug control master plan
for the country. This was sequel to a bottom-up consultative engagement with
stakeholders carried out and accomplished in the form of 11 town hall- style-
meetings across Nigeria, which encompasses the six geo-political zones during
the period of April and June 2014.
The master
plan was designed around four strategic pillars and themes, namely: law
enforcement responses; drug demand reduction; access and control of licit
narcotics and psychotropic substances for medical and scientific purposes; and
coordination, implementation, along with monitoring and evaluation.
The meeting produced
a draft plan which would be submitted to the Federal Government of Nigeria for
endorsement in September 2014. Coordination and implementation of the plan was
a key focus of the meeting, with the IMC resolving to establish an NDLEA-led
National Coordinating Unit to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the
master plan. The development of the plan was an integral part of the European
Union funded and UNODC implemented project, tagged, “Response to Drugs and
Related Organized Crime in Nigeria”.
No comments:
Post a Comment