Oyo state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Thursday destroyed over 40 hectares of hemp plantation in Abatade in Oluyole Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
Addressing newsmen during the exercise, the state NDLEA Commander, Mr Ralph Igwenagu, said the command had previously destroyed six hectares of plantation in Ibarapa LGA of the state.
Igwenagu said the discovery of the plantation was an indication that a good number of farmers in the state engaged in cultivation of hemp.
The commander said five suspects have been arrested in connection with the plantation while investigation was on to arrest others.
Igwenagu said the agency was not only determined to destroy hemp plantations, but to also reduce its trafficking and abuse to the barest minimum in the state.
He called on community leaders not to give their land for cultivation of illicit substances.
“The owners of the plantation are not from the village but they got the land from the village head.
“If the villagers refused to give them the land, the people will not get land to cultivate again and eventually they will leave the illegal business,” he said.
He urged members of the community to always report to the agency anytime they noticed farmlands being used for hemp cultivation.
Mr Mutiat Okuwobi, the state’s Public Relations’ Officer of the agency, said the command would continue to monitor farmland to prevent cultivation of hemp.
