The operatives of the Ogun State Police Command have apprehended a 43-year-old woman, Alaba Mulika and her 16-year-old daughter identified simply as Olamide, for allegedly trading in cannabis.

The mother and daughter who are were dwarfs were part of 56 suspects paraded by the Police on Thursday, with the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, saying that various units of operatives had been deployed in different areas of the state to curtail kidnapping, robbery, cultism and other crimes.

Speaking on the arrest of the mother and daughter at the command’s headquarters at Eleweran, Abeokuta, Iliyasu said that Mulika had engaged in sale of the illicit drug for more than five years

Iliyasu said that on August 5, at about 10:00 a.m., operatives of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) got information about the sale of Indian hemp in Awa Ijebu, so they stormed the town and raided the suspects’ joint.

“On getting there, they found the woman and her daughter selling hemp, skunk and other drugs and arrested them with their exhibits,” he stated.

It was learnt that Mulika was arrested by SARS about two years ago and handed over to the state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). It was further gathered that the woman was once a visitor of the anti-drug agency before her arrest by SARS two years ago.

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While speaking in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, Mulika, who said she was an Oru indigene but lives in Awa Ijebu, confirmed that she was arrested because she was selling Indian hemp.

“I didn’t have any problem with the traditional ruler of Awa-Ijebu; it is the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the town who said he doesn’t want people selling Indian hemp.

“I know Indian hemp is not good, and the Nigerian law does not support trading in it, but I am into it in order to survive. My husband is late. My daughter, Olamide, was not helping me to sell Indian hemp; we were just together in the shop when policemen came to arrest me.

“When I was told to stop selling Indian hemp, I agreed, but I pleaded that I should be allowed to finish selling the ones I had. I am ready to stop selling Indian hemp; I am ready to join the theatre industry if I can find someone to introduce me into it.”

The 16-year-old daughter, Olamide, who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune, also said: “I know my mother used to sell Indian hemp, but that was what we were surviving on.

“She feeds eight people along with herself, making nine. My grandma is down with stroke, and my mother’s younger sister, who is also a dwarf, has cancer of the breast. And it is only my mother who is taking care of them all.”