Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), has been unable to account for 178,459 missing firearms from the inventory of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
Appearing before the Senate Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, Egbetokun was questioned about the missing weapons missing from the armoury of police commands across the country.
Egbetokun introduced a representative who then asked for more time to submit a full report.
A 2019 Auditor General report, presented to the committee by Samuel Godwin, revealed that most of the missing firearms were AK-47 rifles. The report also revealed that some of the missing weapons were assorted rifles and pistols.
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“As of December 2018, a total of 178,459 firearms were unaccounted for, including 88,078 AK-47 rifles. Additionally, as of January 2020, at least 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols remained missing,” the report stated.
However, Abdul Sulaiman, the Assistant Inspector General of Police who represented the IGP, claimed that some of the weapons were lost during robbery incidents. Other weapons were seized by criminals who attacked police officers, Sulaiman claimed.
An audit of police records further revealed that, out of the 3,907 firearms listed as missing, only 15 cases involved officers who died or sustained injuries while losing their weapons.
Sulaiman appealed to the committee for more time to submit a comprehensive report.
“To me, no firearm is unaccounted for. We appeal to the committee for more time, and we will submit a full report,” he said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Adams Oshimole, the lawmaker representing Edo North, stated that it was worrisome that over 4,000 arms were missing from the nation’s armoury without account.
“You should be very worried that about 4,000 arms, some of which could have been used by criminals to compound the security situation we are facing as a people. But as we speak, you don’t know who is responsible,” Oshimole said.
“It is your duty to go and find out. You should track these missing arms. The officers who stole them must be disclosed. When you arrest people who stole rats and rabbits, you parade them.
“So, if a police officer is responsible for missing this number of arms, you have an obligation not only to disclose but to apprehend and arraign the person.
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“This country must operate under the same level of rule of law. The police are supposed to be our friends. But let me ask you a personal question, how did you feel that our 4,000 AK-47 (rifles) procured by taxpayers’ money are missing? What is worrisome is that this money used to procure arms for protecting Nigerians is now lost.”
Victor Umeh, the lawmaker representing Anambra Central, also said that there were claims of policemen selling their arms to criminals.
“The police should track the loss of these arms and know what happened because it is no longer news that in some cases, some people who acted on the armoury have been reported selling arms to criminals,” he said.
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