The Nigeria Police Force has expressed concern over the avoidable loss of firearms by its officers across the country, attributing the issue to negligence and poor weapon-handling skills among personnel.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee had questioned the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, regarding 178,459 missing firearms.
Reacting to the controversy surrounding the IG’s appearance, the police, in a statement issued by the Force spokesperson on February 13, rejected claims from the 2019 report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
The police dismissed the report’s allegation that thousands of firearms were unaccounted for, calling it “misleading and inaccurate.”
The Force further asserted that annual firearm audits are conducted, emphasising that no significant number of weapons had been reported missing.
However, in a police wireless message from “TERROFOR ABUJA,” published by THE PUNCH on Sunday, the police also blamed the avoidable loss of firearms on what it described as the “insensitive deployment” of officers by senior personnel.
The wireless message, referenced CQ:2400/DOPS/CTU/FHQ/ABJ/VOL. 10/90 and addressed to commands in Lagos, Port Harcourt, FCT, Aba, Warri, and Damaturu, among others, warned that senior officers would be held accountable for any further incidents.
The message read, “It has been observed with dismay the disturbing incidents of avoidable loss of firearms to hoodlums.
“This has been found traceable to negligence on the part of officers and poor knowledge of weapon handling. Insensitive deployment by senior officers has also contributed, as policemen who should be protecting the citizenry are themselves vulnerable and frequently targeted in attacks, often lacking the confidence to counter sudden threats. Consequently, TERRORFOR directs you to implement urgent measures to curb this trend.
“You are to immediately design and embark on aggressive training focused on firearm mastery, as any further loss of firearms will not be tolerated.”
