Reps to investigate 178,459 ‘missing’ police arms

The House of Representatives yesterday resolved to investigate the alleged missing 178,459 arms and ammunition in the Nigeria Police Force as contained in the 2019 report of the Auditor-General for the Federation.

This followed the adoption of a motion by Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechukwu, who said the audit of Arms Movement Register, Monthly Returns of Arms and Ammunition and Ammunition Register at the Armoury Section revealed that a total number of lost firearms as of December 2018 stood at 178,459 pieces.

He said: “Out of this number, 88,078 were AK-47 rifles, 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols across different police formations, which could not be accounted for as at January 2020.

“The findings in the report that the police high command failed to keep record of unserviceable and expired firearms and ammunition; owing to non-compliance to the internal control system of the Nigeria Police Force.

“Records of the total number of unserviceable firearms were not produced for examinations and there were no returns from Adamawa State

Command, Police Mobile Force 46, 56, 64 and 68 for the period under review”.

He said the value of the lost firearms could also not be ascertained because no document relating to their cost of acquisition was presented by the police for examination.

He said considering the worsening state of insecurity, kidnapping and banditry in the country, the missing arms could have found their ways into the wrong hands.

The House, therefore, called on the Inspector General of Police to take urgent actions to apprehend those culpable in the depletion of the armoury of the Force.