Police Inaugurate K9 Unit in Lagos
The Lagos State Police Command on Monday inaugurated Canine Section, popularly known as the K- 9 unit of the Force Animal Branch in Ikeja.
The unit, which is designated to take care of the police dogs specially trained for security and detecting explosives, was renovated by the Lagos Province 47 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God ( RCCG) as part of its corporate social responsibility.
Inaugurating the facilities, Special Assistant to Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of RCCG, Pastor Idowu Oluwamade, said that it was part of the Christian Social Responsibility programme to contribute towards the development of the society.
Oluwamade said he hoped the gesture would boost the morale of the officers at the K9 Section to give their best while discharging their duties.
Also speaking, Pastor Femi Obawoye, of the province said that the church decided to execute the project as part of its social responsibility to assist the Nigeria Police Force, adding that the church did it because it knew the importance of police dogs to security.
Noting that the government could not provide all things in terms of security, Obawoye said the church having looked round found that the dogs’ quarters needed attention for the good of the animals and their handlers.
Commending the church for executing the project, the state Commissioner of Police, CP Zubairu Muazu, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Charge of Finance and Administration, DCP Oqua Etim,
said that the intervention would help boost crime prevention in the state.
He said: “The Police Canine Section popularly called K9 was established in 1963 in Obalende, Lagos with six dogs and six handlers. The function of K9 section is to prevent and detect crime through the use of dogs. Police dogs are used for crowd control, perimeter surveillance and condoning.
“Sniffer dogs help in detecting illicit drugs such as: cocaine, heroin, hemps, explosives, arms and concealed corpse. They equally help in tracking suspects, search- and- rescue operations, searching for weapons and recovery of loss or stolen property.
“The dogs also are used for the apprehension of offenders resisting arrest or attempting to evade service. Police dogs can perform the functions of 10 armed officers. The K9 Section, Lagos State Command covers every part of Lagos.”