IGP faces Senate panel over 3,907 missing rifles from police inventory
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has commenced investigations into the disappearance of 3,907 rifles and pistols from various police formations in the country in 2020.
The lawmakers said the ammunition might have fallen into the wrong hands, thus fuelling criminal activities across the country.
The committee also revisited the case of reported missing 178,459 firearms, including 88,078 AK-47 rifles from police inventory.
The concerns were raised on Tuesday when the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, appeared before the committee to respond to audit queries flagged in the 2019 Auditor-General Report.
Mr Egbetokun was represented by an Assistant Inspector General of Police, Sulaiman Abdul.
The lawmakers pressed the police to explain how such a high number of firearms could go missing without accountability and warned that the ammunition might have fallen into the wrong hands, a situation that fuels criminal activities across the country.
READ ALSO: 178,459 arms, ammunition missing from Police armoury – AuGF reports
During the session, the senators sought to know why several ammunition are missing and unaccounted for in the police force and how the police are tracking those responsible for the actions.
Edo North Senator Adams Oshiomhole asked about the whereabouts of the missing arms.
Mr Oshiomhole, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Interior, expressed concerns that the firearms could have been used to perpetrate crimes, worsening Nigeria’s security crisis.
“The attempt by AIG to take cover or refuge under security issues is completely inappropriate because you know more than us.
“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,” he said.
The senator recommended that the police take full responsibility for tracking these missing arms and bringing those responsible to justice.
Officers selling arms to criminals
Anambra Central Senator Victor Umeh alleged that some police officers entrusted with securing armouries were instead selling 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.
Mr Umeh criticised the police for failing to proactively address these security breaches, adding that those responsible must be identified and held accountable.
“Almost 4,000 arms and the police have not been able to nip it in the bud and apprehend those who will answer for this,” he said.
In response to the senators’ concerns, Mr Abdul requested that further discussions on the missing arms be held in a closed-door session.
However, the committee insisted on a more transparent and detailed explanation.
Ebonyi North Senator, Onyekachi Nwebonyi, who chaired the session, ruled that the police chief must reappear before the committee with more comprehensive answers.
“This committee is not satisfied with the explanations on these missing rifles. While we pray for God to forgive and accept the lives of our police officers who have died in the course that the rifles were taken away, we expect the office of the IGP to appear before us again on Monday by 12 noon,” Mr Nwebonyi said.
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