The Nigerian Senate has raised concerns over the disappearance of 3,907 assault rifles from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), as revealed in the 2019 Audit Report by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF).
During a heated session on Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Public Accounts (SPAC) confronted the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, over the missing weapons. The IGP, who had previously failed to honor invitations on the matter, apologized to the committee before delegating Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police in charge of Public Accounts and Budget, Suleiman Abdul, to respond to the audit queries.
The report, which detailed unaccounted-for firearms across multiple police formations, listed 601 missing rifles from 15 training institutions, 42 from 23 police formations, 1,514 from 37 state commands, 29 from zonal commands, and 1,721 from the Police Mobile Force.
Despite intense questioning, AIG Abdul was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for the missing firearms. When he requested a closed-door session, the committee, led by Senator Peter Nwaebonyi (APC, Ebonyi North), rejected the request, insisting on full public disclosure.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole criticized the police for failing to track down those responsible, stating, “The police are quick to parade petty criminals, yet they cannot account for nearly 4,000 missing assault rifles. Nigerians deserve to know what steps have been taken to recover them.”
The committee was further infuriated when AIG Abdul could only account for 15 of the missing rifles, attributing 14 to officers killed in active service and one loss dating back to 1998.
To ensure accountability, the committee ordered the police to present a more detailed response next Monday, warning that the matter would not be swept under the carpet. Consideration of other financial queries against the police was also suspended pending further clarification.
