The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed recent media reports alleging that 3,907 firearms are missing from its armouries, calling the claims misleading and inaccurate.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, clarified that the allegations stemmed from a 2019 audit report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation and do not reflect an actual loss of firearms. The police emphasised that the report referred to 3,907 firearms being “unaccounted for,” not “missing,” as speculated in recent media coverage.
“The report in question appears to be based on the 2019 audit, which likely reflects records compiled before the current tenure of the Inspector-General of Police,” Adejobi stated. He further explained that weapons may not always be physically present during audits due to their assignment to police officers for operational duties, which can sometimes span months, depending on the nature of the operations.
This clarification follows a February 11 report where the Senate Public Accounts Committee grilled the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, over discrepancies in police armoury records. The committee raised concerns about 178,459 firearms, including 88,078 AK-47 rifles, being allegedly missing from police formations nationwide, citing findings from the 2019 audit report.
However, the police reiterated that such figures do not reflect the current status of their armouries. Adejobi pointed out that some arms were lost during attacks on police formations, particularly during civil unrest, and that significant efforts have been made to recover those arms. Many have already been accounted for, the police stated.
“It is important to recognise that during periods of civil unrest, several officers were killed, and their arms were taken. However, all efforts are being made to recover these arms, with many already accounted for,” the police statement read.
The police also clarified that Inspector-General Egbetokun was not present during the Senate hearing on the missing firearms, contrary to some reports. Instead, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Accounts and Budget, Abdul Sulaiman, appeared to respond to audit queries on behalf of the IG.
“The IGP briefly appeared before the committee on Tuesday to address concerns about previous invitations. He answered satisfactorily and was then excused, with AIG Sulaiman staying behind to address the queries,” Adejobi explained.
The Senate Committee has now postponed further hearings on the matter to Monday, February 17, 2025, to give the police time to reconcile discrepancies in the records.
The police have also expressed concern over the spread of misinformation that they say is aimed at undermining public trust in law enforcement. Adejobi warned that such misinformation could have serious consequences, including compromising public safety and damaging the reputation of the police force.
“The proliferation of misinformation against institutions like the Nigeria Police has far-reaching effects, including hindering the NPF’s ability to effectively maintain law and order,” Adejobi concluded.
The police stressed that the issues raised in the 2019 audit report do not relate to the current tenure of Inspector-General Egbetokun, who was appointed by President Bola Tinubu on June 19, 2023, to replace Usman Alkali Baba.
“These queries relate to the period before the administration of the current IG. No such alarming number of firearms is missing from the NPF’s armouries during the current administration,” the statement further clarified.
