NDLEA reacts to report of requesting $20,000 per sniffer dogs  

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NDLEA boss, Marwa

The report that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, proposed to buy a sniffer dog for $20,000 in its 2023 budget has drawn the reaction of the agency. 

Report in general circulation, said during the defence of the 2023 budget of NDLEA, its Chairman, Buba Marwa, defended its plan to buy several sniffer dogs at the said sum per one to the astonishment of the general public. 

NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement he released denied the report explaining what transpired at the defence. 

The statement partly read, “The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency did not request to buy sniffer dogs in its 2023 budget proposal. 

“Its position on the cost of specialised dogs was in response to a question by the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Drugs and Narcotics, Hon. Francis Ottah Agbo, on the need for sniffer dogs at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. 

“The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), had on Thursday, November 3 while defending its 2023 budget before the House of Representatives Committee on Drugs and Narcotics explained in response to Hon. Agbo’s comment that the total package of getting a specialised dog including its training costs an average of $15,000 – $20,000. 

“These are dogs that can detect up to 70 different types of drugs and substances. This is indeed open-source information that can be verified online by anyone interested in knowing the facts about this kind of dogs. 

“Indeed, the full package of some specialized dogs especially those used for special protection, detection, and law enforcement in other jurisdictions costs as much as $30,000; $50,000; $80,000, and more depending on the type of skills and duties such would be trained to perform. 

“Harrison K-9, an Aiken, South Carolina, US-based company sells for as much as $230,000. This is because acquiring specialised dogs goes beyond the cost of purchase but a total package that includes both the training of the dogs and their handlers as in a team over a period of months.” 

 

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