As drug traffickers increasingly devise sophisticated ways to conceal narcotics in luggage, cargo and other consignments, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, is strengthening one of its key detection tools , its canine teams.
The Agency has organised specialised refresher training for its sniffer dog handlers in Lagos, with two German technical dog-handling experts brought in to sharpen the operational skills of both handlers and their service dogs.
The exercise, held at the NDLEA Canine Unit Facility in Lagos, was organised in collaboration with the German Bundeskriminalamt, BKA, and facilitated by German technical dog handlers Andreas Roscher and Jacqueline Shüler.
According to a statement by the agency’s spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the training focused on advanced obedience and control, narcotics detection techniques, scent imprinting, search patterns, handler safety and tactics for deploying canine assets in high-risk environments.
The participants also moved beyond classroom instruction to test their skills in real-life operational environments, including the baggage hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, APM Terminals Apapa and the MMIA NAHCO export shed.
The statement added that eleven personnel from the NDLEA Canine Unit participated in the exercise, comprising the Unit Commander, two veterinary doctors and eight dog handlers with their service dogs.
While five other officers from NDLEA Commands within Lagos who have expressed interest in joining the Canine Unit also participated in the training.
The exercise comes as the Agency continues to rely on canine teams in detecting narcotics concealed in luggage, cargo and other shipments at airports, seaports and border points.
Marwa: Canine teams remain potent detection assets
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd.), described the training as an important investment in the Agency’s ability to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated drug trafficking networks.
Marwa said the performance of the Agency’s canine teams has contributed significantly to drug interception operations, particularly at strategic entry and exit points across the country.
He said continued retraining, welfare and professional development of handlers and service dogs would remain important to maintaining the effectiveness of the Canine Unit.
The NDLEA Chairman also acknowledged manpower and logistics gaps affecting the unit, including the need for additional service dogs, trained personnel and boarding facilities.
According to him, plans are underway to address the identified gaps and expand the capacity of the Canine Unit to adequately cover Nigeria’s seaports, international airports and land borders.
The German experts also recommended that the refresher training be sustained as an annual exercise, providing a structured opportunity for handlers and their dogs to maintain and improve their operational skills.
The collaboration with German experts also provides an avenue for Nigerian handlers to exchange knowledge and operational experience with counterparts working within an international law-enforcement environment.
For the NDLEA, the immediate task is to turn the training into sustained operational readiness ensuring that more handlers are trained, more service dogs are available and canine facilities are expanded to match the demands of Nigeria’s ports of entry.