NDLEA Boosts Canine Unit Capacity with German Expertise

​In a strategic move to disrupt increasingly complex international narcotics trafficking networks, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has completed a high-level refresher training program for its Canine Unit handlers. The intensive program was facilitated by specialized technical dog-handling experts from the German Bundeskriminalamt (BKA).

​Strengthening Tactical Interdiction

​Held at the NDLEA Canine Unit Facility in Lagos, the comprehensive capacity-building workshop featured direct instruction from German experts Mr. Andreas Roscher and Ms. Jacqueline Schüler. The curriculum exposed participating handlers and their service dogs to world-class operational methodologies.

​Key areas covered during the specialized sessions included:

• ​Advanced obedience and tactical control systems.

• ​Specialized narcotics detection techniques, focusing heavily on scent imprinting and precise search patterns.

• ​Real-life simulation exercises executed at high-traffic trade hubs, including the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) baggage hall, the MMIA NAHCO export shed, and APM Terminals in Apapa.

• ​Critical handler safety protocols and deployment strategies for high-risk operational environments.

​Global Standards and Local Commitment

​A total of eleven core Canine Unit personnel—comprising the Unit Commander, two veterinary doctors, and eight dog handlers alongside their service dogs—completed the rigorous course. They were joined by five additional tactical officers from various Lagos-level commands seeking integration into the specialized unit.

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​Reacting to the successful completion of the program, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), emphasized that the initiative mirrors the agency’s relentless drive to align its structural operations with global best practices.

​”Our canine teams remain one of the most potent assets in our detection and interdiction efforts, and this is why we will continue to invest in their retraining and welfare,” Marwa stated. “The successes we have recorded at our airports, seaports and border points in intercepting concealed narcotics are in no small measure due to the dedication and sharpened instincts of our dogs and their handlers. This partnership with our German counterparts further strengthens that capacity and aligns our operations with global best practices.”

​Bridging Logistical Gaps

​While celebrating the milestone, the NDLEA leadership candidly addressed existing operational bottlenecks. Marwa noted that the agency has taken stock of pressing manpower and logistical constraints facing the Canine Unit. These challenges include an urgent deficit in service dogs, qualified personnel, and standard boarding facilities required to comprehensively police Nigeria’s expansive international airports, seaports, and land borders.

​Assuring prompt intervention, the NDLEA boss revealed that strategic frameworks are already being mapped out to bridge these infrastructural gaps, accompanied by recommendations to institutionalize the international refresher training as an annual landmark exercise.