The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has dismissed reports alleging that 3,907 firearms are missing from its armouries, describing the claims as misleading and inaccurate.
In a statement on Thursday, the Force Headquarters acknowledged that during periods of civil unrest, there were incidents where police officers were killed, armouries were attacked, and arms were looted. However, the police assured that efforts have been made to recover and account for the lost weapons.
Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, stated, “Every effort has been made to account for the arms taken, and many have already been recovered and returned to the force’s armouries.”
The statement further clarified that the allegations seem to originate from an audit report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF) from 2019, before the tenure of the current Inspector-General of Police. It explained that the report did not label the firearms as “missing” but rather “unaccounted for” at the time of the audit.
The police also pointed out that audit visits to armouries may not always find all weapons physically present, as firearms are often issued to officers for operational purposes, sometimes for extended periods. This, they say, could lead to misunderstandings about audit findings.
The statement added that the NPF has strict auditing procedures, including internal checks and annual reviews, to ensure proper accountability of all weapons. The force emphasized that there is no record of an “outrageous number of unaccounted or missing arms,” as claimed in the 2019 report.
Furthermore, the police noted that they have already responded to audit queries to reconcile discrepancies in the report. The hearing on the matter, initially scheduled before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, has been postponed to February 17, 2025, for a more thorough review.
Addressing reports that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) was questioned about the alleged missing firearms, the police clarified that the IGP only made a brief appearance before the Senate Committee on February 11, 2025. He took the oath and explained why he had not attended previous hearings, after which he was excused. The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Accounts and Budget remained to answer the committee’s queries, which related to a period before the current IGP’s tenure.
The NPF further condemned what it described as the “spread of misinformation” aimed at tarnishing the image of the police, warning that such reports could damage public trust and hinder security efforts.
