The Nigeria Police Force has stated that 3,907 firearms were unaccounted for from the police armoury before Kayode Egbetokun’s appointment as the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Force spokesperson Olumuyiwa Adejobi clarified in a statement that some of the arms were taken by criminals during civil unrest.
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He explained, “This report seems to be based on an assessment from the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF) from 2019, which likely reflects records before the current IGP’s tenure.”
The statement further explained that the report referred to the arms as “unaccounted for,” not “missing,” as suggested by some news outlets.
Adejobi acknowledged the difficulties the police faced during civil unrest, including the killing of officers and the looting of police facilities and armouries, which resulted in the loss of firearms.
Despite this, the police have made efforts to track down and recover many of the stolen arms. Adejobi also noted that during audits, not all weapons may be found in the armouries as some are issued to officers for operational purposes, sometimes for extended periods, which could lead to misunderstandings in audit reports.
