By Abiola Olawale
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, has faced heavy scrutiny over allegations of missing assault rifles and pistols from the Nigeria Police Force’s armoury.
This is as Egbetokun appeared before the Senate on Tuesday to give account for the 3, 907 ammunition reportedly missing.
The Senate invited the IGP for questioning after a report by the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF).
The audit report observed that “the review of arms movement register, monthly returns of arms and ammunition and ammunition register at the armoury section revealed that The total number of lost firearms as reported as of December 2018 stood at 178,459 pieces.”
The auditor general’s report also disclosed that a total of 178,459 firearms were reportedly missing as of December 2018, out of which 88 078 were AK-47 riffles.
In his response, Egbetokun gave a detailed account of missing rifles as far back as 1998. However, according to reports, he was unable to provide convincing answers for the missing 3,907 riffles contained in the auditor-general’s report.
He subsequently pleaded for a closed session, a request that was roundly turned down by the Senate Committee.
The IGP then pleaded for more time to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and revert to it.
