The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has dismissed recent reports alleging that 3,907 firearms were missing from its armouries, describing the claims as misleading and inaccurate.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi clarified that the figures being circulated were based on a 2019 audit report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation and did not reflect the current status of police armouries.
“The report appears to stem from an assessment of the 2019 audit, which likely reflects records compiled before the tenure of the current Inspector-General of Police.
“The report states that 3,907 arms were ‘unaccounted for,’ not ‘missing,’ as speculated in the news,” Adejobi explained.
This clarification followed a Senate Public Accounts Committee hearing on February 11, where the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun was questioned over discrepancies in police armoury records.
The committee had expressed concerns over an alleged 178,459 missing firearms, including 88,078 AK-47 rifles, based on findings from the 2019 audit report.
However, the police maintained that the figures do not accurately reflect the current situation, noting that firearms assigned to officers for operations may not always be present during audits.
“When auditors conduct visits to our armouries, they may not find all arms present at the time due to the issuance of weapons to personnel for operational purposes, some spanning months, depending on the nature of such operations,” he said.
“Consequently, this may lead to misconceptions regarding the accuracy of audit reports,” Adejobi stated.
He further pointed out that some weapons had been lost due to attacks on police formations, particularly during civil unrest, but assured that efforts have been made to recover them.
“It is important to acknowledge the challenges faced by the police during periods of civil unrest, where several officers were killed and their arms carted away.
“However, every effort has been made to recover these arms, and many have already been accounted for,” the statement added.
The FPRO also refuted claims that IGP Egbetokun was present at the Senate hearing to address the alleged missing firearms, clarifying that he had only made a brief appearance to explain his absence from previous invitations.
“The IGP was asked to take the usual oath and explain why he did not honour previous invitations by the committee,” he continued
“He responded to the satisfaction of the committee members and was thereafter excused, while the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Police Accounts and Budget, stayed back to answer the queries,” Adejobi clarified.
The Senate Committee postponed further hearings on the matter to Monday, February 17, 2025, allowing the police time to reconcile discrepancies in the records.
Meanwhile, the police have expressed concern over what they described as the spread of misinformation aimed at undermining public confidence in law enforcement.
“The proliferation of misinformation, especially against institutions like the Nigeria Police, has far-reaching consequences, including compromising public safety, damaging reputations, and hindering the NPF’s ability to effectively maintain law and order,” Adejobi warned.
Reiterating that the audit queries predated Egbetokun’s tenure, he emphasised that no such number of firearms has gone missing under the current IGP.
“These queries relate to the period that predated the administration of the current IGP.
“For emphasis’s sake, no such outrageous number of firearms is missing in the armouries of the NPF within the stated period,” he concluded.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Egbetokun as IGP on June 19, 2023, replacing his predecessor, Usman Alkali Baba, now retired.