The Senate has raised serious concerns over 3,907 rifles and pistols allegedly missing from the Nigeria Police Force armoury. During a session on Tuesday, the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) expressed dissatisfaction with the explanation provided by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, regarding the unaccounted weapons.
Egbetokun was summoned to address an audit query raised by the Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF), but his response did not convince the committee. The missing firearms were flagged in an audit report, which showed discrepancies in police records.
Olu Samuel Godwin, a representative of the Auditor-General, noted that a total of 178,459 firearms were unaccounted for as of December 2018. Among them were 88,078 AK-47 rifles. The report also noted that the Force Armament records at the Police Headquarters in Abuja did not match the actual number of weapons on the ground. It was further revealed that the Police Mobile Force Squadron failed to report any missing firearms, even though records indicated that at least 46 weapons had disappeared between 2000 and 2019.
When questioned, police representatives could only account for 15 out of the 3,907 rifles listed as missing. They requested a closed-door session to provide further details, but the Senate committee refused. Instead, the committee insisted on full transparency and demanded a detailed investigation. The police then asked for additional time to conduct a thorough review and promised to provide a comprehensive report later.
The Senate stressed the need for the police to properly manage and track firearms, noting that such lapses pose a serious threat to national security. Lawmakers warned that they would continue investigating the matter until all missing weapons are accounted for.
