Breaking: IGP Faces Senate Scrutiny Over Missing 3,907 Police Firearms

In response to the Nigeria Police Force’s explanation of 3,907 assault rifles and pistols that were allegedly missing from its arsenal as of January 2020, the Senate chastised Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun on Tuesday, saying that the police needed to account for the weapons and ammunition.

When Egbetokun addressed the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF) before the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) on “loss of firearms and ammunition,” the Senate voiced its displeasure over the 3,907 assault rifles that had been lost across Nigerian police formations. The audit question could not be satisfactorily answered by Egbetokun.

According to AuGF representative Olu Samuel Godwin, “the review of arms movement register, monthly returns of arms and ammunition, and ammunition register at the armoury section revealed that the total number of lost firearms as reported as at December 2018 stood at 178,459 pieces,” read the 2019 audit report.
3,907 RAFFLES are missing from the police arsenal.

The question raised by the Federation’s auditor general in the 2019 Annual Audited Report was followed by the Senate’s decision.

As of December 2018, 178,459 firearms were reported missing, 88,078 of which were AK-47 rifles, according to the auditor general’s report.

According to the auditor general, records from Force Armament at Force headquarters showed that 21 Police Mobile Force Squadron, Abuja, did not disclose any lost firearms, while a schedule from the same police department showed 46 firearms missing between 2000 and 2019.

Read Also: Diplomatic Tension: Nigeria Responds to US Suspension of Drop Box Visa Renewal

In response, the police only accounted for lost weapons as far back as 1998 and could only offer plausible explanations for 15 of the 3,907 missing firearms listed in the auditor general’s report.

The Police then pleaded for a closed session, but the Senate Committee flatly refused.

The police then pleaded for more time to thoroughly investigate the matter and report back to them.

Details will be released shortly.