The Nigerian Senate has raised serious concerns over the disappearance of 3,907 assault rifles belonging to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), as revealed in the 2019 Audit Report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF).
The revelation was made during a Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) hearing, where Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun apologized for previously ignoring invitations to address financial and operational irregularities flagged in the audit report.
Audit Report Exposes Alarming Discrepancies
The committee, chaired by Senator Peter Nwaebonyi (APC, Ebonyi North), sustained the third query of the audit, which detailed the unaccounted 3,907 rifles, many of them AK-47s.
A representative of the Auditor-General reported that as of January 2020, extensive audits showed that:
601 firearms were missing from 15 Police Training Institutions
42 firearms disappeared from 23 Police formations
1,514 firearms were unaccounted for across 37 Police Commands
29 rifles vanished from Zone 1 to 12
1,721 firearms were missing from Police Mobile Force (PMF) units 1 to 68
This added to a prior finding that, as of December 2018, a staggering 178,459 firearms were unaccounted for, including 88,078 AK-47 rifles.
Senators Reject Closed-Door Session, Demand Transparency
The Senate committee rejected a request from AIG Suleiman Abdul, who represented the IGP, for a closed-door session to discuss the missing weapons.
Senator Nwaebonyi insisted that the proceedings must be public:
> “This is a Public Accounts Committee; there will be no closed-door session. In the United States, such hearings are televised live. The AIG must provide answers openly, especially for journalists covering this matter.”
Supporting this stance, Senator Adams Oshiomhole criticized the Police for failing to take accountability:
> “The Police are quick to parade petty thieves for stealing rats and rabbits, yet cannot account for thousands of missing assault rifles. Nigerians deserve to know who was responsible, what has been done, and how many weapons have been recovered.”
Police Fail to Provide Satisfactory Explanation
During questioning, AIG Abdul could only account for 15 of the 3,907 missing rifles—14 of which were reportedly lost due to officers killed in service, while one disappeared in 1998. His response further infuriated committee members.
In response, the Senate directed the Police team to return with a more detailed and satisfactory explanation by Monday next week at 12 noon. The committee also suspended consideration of five other queries pending further investigations.
National Security Concerns Grow
The unaccounted-for rifles pose serious national security risks, as they could have fallen into the hands of criminals, insurgents, or rogue elements. The Senate’s insistence on transparency signals growing concerns about accountability within the Police Force and its role in tackling insecurity.
With this development, all eyes are now on the Nigeria Police Force to provide concrete answers and ta
ke immediate action to recover the missing firearms.
