3,907 Arms Unaccounted For Since 2019, Not Under Egbetokun – Police

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has clarified that the 3,907 arms reported as unaccounted for in the police armoury predate the tenure of the current Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.

Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made this known in a statement, explaining that the figure was drawn from an assessment by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF) dating back to 2019.

According to Adejobi, the audit report categorised the arms as “unaccounted for” rather than “missing,” countering claims that the weapons had disappeared under suspicious circumstances.

“It is important to acknowledge the challenges faced by the police during periods of civil unrest, during which several police officers were killed, and their arms carted away,” he stated.
“Some attacks on police facilities and armouries also resulted in the loss of arms.”

The police spokesman further noted that efforts have been ongoing to recover the arms, with a significant number already retrieved. He also pointed out that discrepancies in audit reports may arise when auditors visit police armouries at times when firearms have been issued to officers for operational duties.

“When auditors conduct visits to our armouries, they may not find all arms present at the time due to issuance for operations, some of which last for months,” Adejobi explained. “Consequently, this may lead to misconceptions regarding the accuracy of audit reports.”

The police assured the public that steps were being taken to enhance accountability in arms management and prevent further incidents of missing or unaccounted-for firearms.