The Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mr Solomon Arase, has said that the
Nigeria Police Force had spent over N600 million on the procurement and
maintenance of foreign dogs in the last few years.
Arase made the disclosure at the inauguration of the Police Dog Breeding
Centre and Ultra Modern Mounted Troop in Abuja on Thursday.
“This is certainly not sustainable in the face of the current dwindling
resources,”he said.
The IG said that so much money was being spent on the importation of dogs
from foreign countries that rarely adapted to the country’s policing
objective.
He said that the projects inaugurated were funded within the budgetary
provisions of the Force Animal Branch.
Arase said that the force animal branch had remained underutilised in the
past while the force continued to rely on importation of dogs and other
animals for its operations.
He said that the centre was built to aid the police acquire capacity to
locally breed police dogs as well as support other security agencies in
the country.
The Police boss said that the centre if effectively utilised, would save
the nation some foreign exchange that would have gone into procurement of
dogs from foreign countries.
The IG said that the centre had the capacity to breed and supply police
dogs to the entire West African sub-region.
“It is projected that at optimal breeding capacity, it can produce well
above 200 dogs per year,“he said.
He said that the establishment of the facilities was part of the long term
strategies aimed at restoring police primacy and aligning it to best
global standards.
In a remark, the Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman
Dambazau, said the projects were timely considering the current security
challenges facing the country.
Dambazau said that Nigerians deserved a police that was competent and
reliable. He said that the projects would not only reduce spending but
would also provide job opportunities for other Nigerians aside from the
police.
The high point of the occasion was a display by police dogs and award
presentation to the Minister of Interior, Arase, and Mr Mike Okiro,
Chairman, Police Service Commission, among others. NAN