Pat Stevens/
Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, faced a heated grilling from the Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Monday over the disappearance of 3,907 police assault rifles.
This alarming issue was flagged in the 2019 Audit Report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
The report revealed that thousands of AK-47 rifles and other firearms had gone missing from police formations across the country as of January 2020. Despite the gravity of the situation, no concrete records were provided to explain the disappearance.
During the session, IGP Egbetokun acknowledged the issue and apologised for previously neglecting to address the audit queries.
He delegated Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) Suleiman Abdul to offer clarifications, but the committee found his explanations unsatisfactory.
Efforts by the police to have parts of the session held behind closed doors were rejected by the senators, who insisted on transparency.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole, a member of the committee, strongly criticised the lack of accountability within the police force. He highlighted the irony of law enforcement failing to maintain proper records for their own firearms, a standard they rigorously enforce on civilians.
“Imagine if these rifles are now in the hands of criminals. The same police will arrest people for carrying illegal arms while they cannot account for their own weapons,” Oshiomhole remarked.
The Senate panel emphasised that the loss of firearms poses a significant threat to national security, calling for immediate action to recover the missing weapons and prevent future lapses.
The committee is expected to intensify its investigation to uncover the root causes of the negligence and ensure those responsible are held accountable.
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