By John Ikani
About 178,459 different types of arms and ammunition got missing from the Nigerian Police armory in 2019 without any trace or formal report on their whereabouts, an audit report of the Nation’s Auditor General of the Federation has stated.
These findings are contained in the audit query document, AuGF/AR.2019/02, dated September 15, 2021. The document was signed by the Auditor General of the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu, and has been sent to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Amos Ojo.
According to the report expected to be investigated by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Account, chaired by Hon. Oluwole Oke, no fewer than 178,459 different types of arms and ammunition got missing from the police armoury in 2019 fiscal year, without any trace or formal report on their whereabouts.
As encapsulated in the report, 88,078 AK-47 rifles, 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols from different formations nationwide could not be accounted for as at January 2020.
The report also stated that the actions of the Nigeria Police were in violation of Financial Regulations paragraph 2603, which states that in the event of a loss of stores, the officer in charge of the store in question must report immediately to the head of department or unit, but no later than three days, by the fastest means possible if the loss occurs away from headquarters.
It recommended the prosecution of some police officers by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over conversion of arms and ammunition for illegal use.
Part of the report reads: “Audit discovered that the overall number of lost weapons reported as of December 2018 was at 178,459 pieces after reviewing the Arms Movement Register, Monthly Returns of Arms and Ammunition, and Ammunition Register at the Armoury department.
“Of this total, 88,078 were AK-47 firearms and 3,907 other rifles and handguns from various police formations that could not be accounted for as of January 2020.” Formal reports on the loss of guns via dully filled Treasury Form 146 (loss of shops) were not provided for review.
“Records received from force armament at the Force headquarters revealed that the 21 Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron, Abuja, did not record a single incidence of missing firearm, although a schedule of lost arms obtained from the same PMF revealed a total of six cases of missing firearms.
“Records obtained from force armament at the Force headquarters showed 21 Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron, Abuja, did not report a single case of missing firearm, whereas, schedule of missing arms obtained from the same PMF showed a total number of forty six (46) missing arms between year 2000 and February 2019.
“The worth of the missing guns could not be determined since no documentation pertaining to their acquisition cost was supplied for scrutiny.
“The aforementioned abnormalities might be attributable to flaws in the Nigeria Police Force Armament’s internal control system.
“Several firearms have become unserviceable and dysfunctional as a result of a review of the arm issue register, monthly returns of arms and ammunition obtained from Force Armament, Force Headquarters for various States Commands, Formations, Zonal offices, Training Institutions, squadrons, and physical inspection of firearms and ammunition at the Force Headquarters.”
It added: “Similarly, certain Police Training Institutions and Formations did not submit returns, and physical verification of guns and ammunition at the Force Armament, Force Headquarters revealed a substantial amount of broken and antiquated weaponry that needed to be destroyed.
“The damaged and outdated weapons and ammunition shall be disposed in accordance with Financial Regulations 2618, which requires that the destruction be done in such a way that the firearms are rendered unsuitable for their intended function.”
