The Nigeria Police Force has come out to refute the allegations raised by the Senate on 3,907 firearms missing from its armory. The Senate Committee on Public Accounts had on Tuesday summoned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun to respond to audit queries flagged in the 2019 Auditor General Report. According to the audit report by the Auditor General of the Federation, 3,907 arms could not be accounted for, thereby prompting the Senate to demand explanations.
The Nigeria Police in a press release on Thursday by its Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi explained that the report “appears to stem from an assessment of the report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, far back 2019, likely reflecting records compiled prior to the current Inspector-General of Police’s tenure.
However, the police in a press release on Thursday, signed by its spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the audit report specifically used the term “unaccounted” and not “missing” as aired by media.
“The Force wishes to clarify that this report appears to stem from an assessment of the report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, AuGF dating back to 2019, likely reflecting records compiled prior to the current Inspector-General of Police’s tenure.
“In the report, according to Issue 3b, Sub (iii), it is stated that 3,907 arms were unaccounted for and not “missing” as speculated by the news,” the police said, describing the reports as “misleading and inaccurate.”
Adejobi also explained the impact of civil unrest on the lives of Police officers who were killed, their arms often carted away and their facilities and armories looted, which could result in the loss of arms.
“However, every effort has been made to account for the arms that were taken, while many have been recovered back to the arms holding of the force at the moment.
“We also note that when auditors conduct visits to our armories, they may not find all arms present at the time due to the issuance of weapons to personnel for operational purposes, many spanning to months depending on the nature of such operations.
“Consequently, this may lead to misconceptions regarding the accuracy of audit reports,” the police said.
“Throughout our audit sessions, there has been no outrageous record of unaccounted or missing arms, as speculated in the 2019 report of the AuGF, despite some incidents that have been documented and managed, he said.
Speaking further the police said that they have a statutory and annual internal auditing process in accordance with the provisions outlined in the Police Regulations, administrative instructions, and standard operating procedures (SOP) that ensure strict measures to the controlled movement and proper accountability of arms.
“However, the NPF remains committed to maintaining transparency and public trust and will continue to uphold the security of the nation while honouring the duty to account for all operational materials entrusted to us,” the police said.