Okpebholo, Oba of Benin back NDLEA drug war as Marwa visits Benin City

Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State and the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, have pledged to support the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in its fight against drug abuse and trafficking.

The pledges came on Wednesday when the NDLEA chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), brought the agency's War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign to Benin City, the Edo State capital.

At the Government House, Okpebholo said the fight should not be left to the NDLEA alone. He said drugs lie at the root of nearly every crime, and that even kidnappers sometimes ask their victims for drugs before demanding ransom.

"That shows that illicit drug is our enemy," the governor said. He praised NDLEA officers in Edo for their work and promised the state would back the agency's requests.

Marwa decorated Okpebholo as a WADA Grand Ambassador and asked him to support the agency's Alternative Development Programme, which encourages cannabis growers to switch to legal crops.

The programme was introduced last year and its pilot phase began in Ondo State in January 2026. Marwa said results there were encouraging, and the agency now wants to extend it to Edo. Farmers who join are helped to grow cassava, yam and maize, with support that includes farm inputs and community infrastructure such as roads, schools, clinics and water supply.

Marwa also asked for more logistics support for NDLEA operations in the state.

Scale of the problem

At the Oba's palace, Marwa described drug abuse as one of Nigeria's biggest challenges. He said more than 15 million Nigerians are involved in drug use, a rate about three times the global average, and that the problem has spread to schools and communities, including the Benin Kingdom.

He said the agency arrested more than 1,200 suspected traffickers and seized over 30 tonnes of illicit substances in Edo State in 2025. Nationwide, he said, cannabis made up about 75 per cent of the 16 million kilogrammes of drugs seized in the last five years, and Edo is among the states where cannabis is grown.

Marwa said the NDLEA's work goes beyond arrests to counselling, treatment and rehabilitation for people who are addicted. But he said the agency cannot do it alone and needs traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society groups, government and the media.

He said Nigeria is the first country in Africa to adopt alternative development as a pillar of drug control, an approach backed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Federal Government.

Oba Ewuare II thanked Marwa for recognising the kingdom's efforts. He said he had suggestions for improving the agency's work, which he would send to the chairman privately.

Marwa also met leaders of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Edo, led by Comrade Saturday Oamen, and urged them to sensitise members and help keep motor parks free of drugs. He was also due to meet religious and civil society leaders.

What happens next

The NDLEA plans to roll out the Alternative Development Programme in Edo, with the governor's backing. Farmers who join are expected to get support to move from cannabis to legal crops.