The Nigeria Police Force has responded to the allegation of missing arms from the force armory. The force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi said that the 3907 arms recorded as ‘missing’ from the force armory by the audit report of the office of the auditor general are not missing as supposed by rather ‘unaccounted for’.
“Unaccounted for” not “Missing”
Adejobi clarified that the unaccounted arms from the police armory were before the tenure of Kayode Egbetokun as the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
He said, “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 before the current Inspector-General of Police’s tenure.
“In the report, according to Issue 3b, Sub (iii), it is stated that 3907 arms were unaccounted for and not ‘missing’ as speculated by the news.”
Force Explains the Mystery behind the “Missing” Arms
Adejobi blamed the missing arms on attacks from hoodlums at the police facility and armory. He also claimed that part of the unaccounted arms were carted away by hoodlums after the death of police officers during Civil unrest.
“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, and some attacks and looting of police facilities and armories, resulting in the loss of arms.
“Missing” Arms Recovered?
Adejobi went further to highlight that efforts are being made to recover the looted or stolen arms from dead police officers, and he claimed that many have been recovered to the force holding. He noted that most of the recovered arms were not present during the inspection by auditors due to the “issuance of weapons to personnel for operational purposes, many spanning to months depending on the nature of such operations.”
This he noted, might be the source of the misconception of missing arms in the force armory and the accuracy of the auditor’s report.
Conclusion
The Nigeria Police Force has clarified the situation surrounding the alleged missing arms. But are they really “unaccounted for” as the force described and not missing?
Arms are important to police forces for maintaining order, protecting the public, and apprehending suspects, particularly when faced with the high level of Insecurity in Nigeria. Therefore the loss of arms is not an issue to be trifled with, the Nigerian police force should be required to provide a proper account of the alleged missing arms, which is more than a mere statement.
