A dramatic showdown unfolded on Tuesday at the Senate Committee on Public Accounts as Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Suleiman Abdul struggled to defend the disappearance of 3,907 assault rifles mostly AK-47s belonging to the Nigeria Police Force.
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Representing the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, AIG Abdul faced intense questioning after the committee sustained an audit query revealing that the missing rifles could not be traced across multiple police formations nationwide.
The report, presented by a representative of the Auditor General for the Federation, stated that as of January 2020, the police could not account for the weapons.
Earlier in the session, IGP Egbetokun had apologized to the committee for failing to honor previous invitations. After taking an oath, he delegated AIG Abdul, who oversees public accounts and budget, to respond to eight audit queries against the police.
Despite attempts by AIG Abdul to shift discussions behind closed doors, the committee, led by its Deputy Chairman, Senator Peter Nwaebonyi, insisted that the interrogation must remain public.
Nwaebonyi emphasized that as a public accounts committee, their proceedings would not be conducted in secret, adding that in the United States, similar sessions are televised live.
He insisted that whatever explanations the police had to offer on the missing rifles must be done in full public view.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole backed this stance and ridiculed the police’s response, stating that while officers were quick to arrest and parade petty thieves who steal rats and rabbits, they had failed to provide a convincing explanation for the disappearance of thousands of dangerous assault rifles.
He argued that Nigerians deserved to know who was responsible for the loss and what measures had been taken to recover the weapons.
The 2019 audit report exposed shocking lapses in police inventory management, revealing that as of December 2018, a staggering 178,459 firearms had been lost, including 88,078 AK-47 rifles.
By January 2020, an additional 3,907 assault rifles and pistols had gone missing. The report detailed how firearms disappeared from various police units, including training institutions, police formations, state commands, and the Police Mobile Force.
Faced with relentless questioning, AIG Abdul and his team failed to provide satisfactory explanations for the missing weapons.
When pressed for details, he could only account for 15 out of the 3,907 missing rifles, explaining that 14 were lost due to the deaths of officers in active service, while one had been missing since 1998.
His feeble response further angered the committee members, who rejected any attempts to sweep the matter under the carpet.
In a final ruling, the committee directed the police to return with a clearer, more detailed explanation. They were given until Monday at 12 noon to provide a comprehensive account of the missing firearms.
Meanwhile, the committee suspended consideration of five other audit queries against the police until further notice.
With pressure mounting, Nigerians await the next hearing, hoping for answers on how thousands of deadly firearms vanished under the watch of those meant to safeguard the nation.