The Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Ogun State, CN Tijjani Rabe, has responded sharply to criticism from human rights activist and African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore over the agency’s destruction of cannabis farms.
Sowore had taken to social media platform X to condemn the operation, describing cannabis as an economically viable crop worth millions of dollars. He argued the government should legalize and regulate cultivation to harness medicinal and industrial potential rather than destroy farms, calling the agency’s actions “idiotic” while the country faces multidimensional poverty.
In a statement, Rabe defended the NDLEA’s record over the past five years, citing monumental drug seizures that prevented tons of illicit substances from reaching homes, schools, barracks and motor parks. He emphasized the agency operates under a clear legal mandate from the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“You cannot seek to be Commander-in-Chief and in the same breath denigrate the men and women who serve under that command,” Rabe stated.
Beyond enforcement, the commander highlighted the agency’s rehabilitation of thousands of young Nigerians and dismantling of transnational cartels that fund kidnapping, banditry and arms trafficking with drug proceeds.
Rabe argued the democratic path for legal change is sponsoring legislation, not abuse. He warned that legalization without strong regulatory frameworks — including laboratories, prescription monitoring, rehabilitation centers and tracking systems — would expand the black market. He cited Canada’s continued struggle with illicit markets years after legalization, noting Nigeria’s current regulatory capacity would make the situation far worse.
The commander said many cannabis farms are controlled by armed networks linked to trafficking and violence, and legalizing now would hand legitimacy to those same networks. He stressed the government must first fund laboratories, rehabilitation centers and cooperatives to make any future cannabis industry safe and sustainable.
“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.
The agency acknowledged the tone of the criticism but expressed gratitude to millions of Nigerians who support its work.
