The Nigeria Police Force has raised alarm over the increasing cases of missing firearms among its officers, attributing the issue to negligence, poor weapon-handling skills, and improper deployment of personnel by senior officers.
This comes amid controversy over the Senate Public Accounts Committee’s query to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, regarding the alleged disappearance of 178,459 firearms.
While the police had earlier dismissed the claims from a 2019 Auditor-General’s report as “misleading and inaccurate,” a newly surfaced internal memo suggests the Force is taking urgent steps to address firearm losses.
According to the PUNCH, in a wireless message from TERROFOR ABUJA, the police hierarchy expressed concern over officers losing their weapons to criminals.
The memo, referenced CQ:2400/DOPS/CTU/FHQ/ABJ/VOL. 10/90, was addressed to police commands in Lagos, Port Harcourt, FCT, Aba, Warri, Damaturu, and other locations.
The directive blamed firearm losses on officers’ negligence, inadequate weapon-handling skills, and poor deployment strategies that make policemen vulnerable to attacks.
“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.”
In response, the police have ordered immediate measures to curb the trend, including mandatory training on firearm mastery and regular audits of arms and ammunition.
“You are to immediately design and embark on aggressive training focused on firearm mastery, as any further loss of firearms will not be tolerated,”the directive stated.
Additionally, senior police officers have been mandated to submit a monthly report on arms and ammunition, with supervising officers held accountable for any missing weapons.
“You are further directed to conduct an arms and ammunition audit and furnish me with a comprehensive report. Additionally, monthly returns on arms and ammunition must be submitted on or before the 23rd of each month.”
Efforts to reach the Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, for comments were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report, as calls to his phone rang out, and messages sent to him remained unanswered. I
