The operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Ekiti State Command have arrested a suspected illegal farmer operating a cannabis plantation on more than ten hectares of land in the state.
The NSCDC disclosed that the illegal farm was located along the Ilawe/Ikere and Igbara-Odo axis of the state and spread to neighbouring towns.
The cannabis farm was discovered by the operatives of the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) attached to the Ekiti NSCDC command.
The Ekiti NSCDC Commandant Mr Oluwaseun Sosina, while parading the suspect on Monday told Journalists that one suspect named David Akpan was arrested during a patrol exercise by the CTU.
The Commandant explained that an investigation is ongoing to apprehend other suspects at large.
He said: ‘You will recall that the operatives of the CTU had been stationed along the Ikere /Ado Ekiti axis to checkmate criminals and miscreants from moving into the state capital. This effort led to the revelation and the eventual discoveries of the plantation and the arrest of a suspect”
He explained that the arrested suspect who is currently detained at the office is assisting the command in unraveling the whereabouts of other suspects.
He promised that the command would hand over the suspect to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation.
The Commandant therefore urged farm owners to be careful of those who are using their heritage for illegal activities, warned that” the command will not spare landowners who are found culpable when investigating illegal usage of land resources “.
Sosina noted that “the command Agro Ranger Unit has been deployed to the area for proper monitoring and surveillance.”