Hon. Maria Edeko, Deputy Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, has claimed that women selling herbal mixtures, commonly known as “agbo,” are acting as agents and distributors of hard drugs throughout society.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker representing Esan North-East II made these allegations on Tuesday during a meeting with the executive members of the Edo State chapter of the Nigerian Red Cross Society in her office in Benin City.
Edeko emphasized her commitment to collaborating with the Nigerian Red Cross Society to eradicate drug trafficking and abuse across the state. She highlighted the detrimental impact of drug abuse on youths, noting that illicit substances have infiltrated every part of society, often through women selling “agbo.”
The lawmaker said;
“Every woman on the street with a container bearing different herbal mixtures and concoctions is the agent and distributor of these hard drugs which are prevalent.
“Today, we have vulnerable people that are victims of drugs. It is a new plague because our community is being destroyed by drugs.
“I have had collaborative partnerships with NAFDAC and NDLEA in taking the campaign against drug abuse to schools, churches, and marketplaces.
“But maybe because, as a university lecturer, I was able to see the tragedy associated with drug abuse that nobody could see, but today drugs are being sold in every nook and cranny of our society.
“For me, I would be comfortable if the NDLEA could buy those basins from the agbo sellers hawking these drugs and take them for laboratory analysis because even at night around 1 a.m., you still see these ‘agbo’ sellers displaying them. Who takes agbo at 1am or 2am, if it is not drugs they are distributing?”
