The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed reports of missing 3,907 firearms, citing a 2019 audit report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, stated that the claims are misleading and do not reflect the reality of the situation.
“The report appears to stem from an assessment of the 2019 audit, which likely reflects records compiled before the tenure of the current Inspector-General of Police.
“The report states that 3,907 arms were ‘unaccounted for,’ not ‘missing,’ as speculated in the news,” Adejobi stated.
This clarification comes after a February 11 report detailing how the Senate Public Accounts Committee questioned the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, over anomalies in police armory records.
During the hearing, the committee raised alarm that 178,459 guns, including 88,078 AK-47 rifles, had allegedly gone missing from police formations around the country, citing information from the Auditor-General’s 2019 report.
However, the police insisted on Thursday that such data do not accurately reflect the current state of their armories, stressing that firearms allocated to officers for operations may not always be present during audits.
“We also note that when auditors conduct visits to our armories, they may not find all arms present at the time due to the issuance of weapons to personnel for operational purposes, some spanning months, depending on the nature of such operations.
“Consequently, this may lead to misconceptions regarding the accuracy of audit reports,” Adejobi explained.
He also mentioned that some arms were lost due to attacks on Force formations, particularly during civil unrest, a point the police reiterated in their response.
“It is important to acknowledge the challenges faced by the police during periods of civil unrest, where several officers were killed and their arms carted away.
“However, every effort has been made to recover these arms, and many have already been accounted for,” the police statement read.
Adejobi also elucidated that Egbetokun was not present during the Senate’s discussion on the missing firearms, contrary to reports suggesting otherwise.
According to reports, Egbetokun had chosen a representative to appear on his behalf at future sittings.
Thus, Adejobi stated on Thursday that the IG only appeared briefly before the committee on Tuesday to address concerns regarding prior invites, following which the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Accounts and Budget, Abdul Sulaiman, remained to answer audit questions.
“The IGP was asked to take the usual oath and explain why he did not honor previous invitations by the committee.
“He responded to the satisfaction of the committee members and was thereafter excused, while the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Police Accounts and Budget, stayed back to answer the queries,” the statement clarified.
The Senate Committee has now rescheduled more hearings on the audit for Monday, February 17, 2025, giving the police time to rectify anomalies in the documents.
Meanwhile, the ForcePPO have raised alarm about what they call falsehoods intended to undermine public trust in law enforcement.
“The proliferation of misinformation, especially against institutions like the Nigeria Police, has far-reaching consequences, including compromising public safety, damaging reputations, and hindering the NPF’s ability to effectively maintain law and order,” Adejobi warned.
Also, the Adejobi emphasized that these issues of missing arms from 2019 and 2020 do not in any way relate to the tenure of the current IG, Egbetokun.
Chronicle NG reports that on June 19, 2023, President Bola Tinubu appointed Egbetokun to replace Usman Alkali Baba.
“These queries related to the period that predated the administration of the current IGP.
“For emphasis sake, no such outrageous number of firearms is missing in the armories of the NPF within the stated period,” the report further noted.
