From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives has resolved to probe the case of 178,459 pieces of arms and ammunition allegedly missing from the armoury of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
Consequently, the House resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to undertake the probe and report back in four weeks for further legislative actions.
The panel as part of its assignment is expected to establish the veracity of the allegations, as well as to conduct due diligence of the control processes of the armoury of the police.
The House also charged the Inspector General of Police ( IGP), Usman Baba Alkali, to take immediate actions to apprehend those responsible for the alleged depletion of the police armoury.
This followed the adoption of a motion by the deputy minority leader, Toby Okechukwu, on the “need to investigate alleged missing firearms and ammunition of the Nigeria Police”, on Thursday’s plenary.
Okechukwu, in the motion, informed the House that the 2019 audit report of the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, as reported by national dailies, indicated that about 178,459 different arms and ammunition, belonging to the police are allegedly missing.
The lawmaker explained that “the audit of Arms Movement Register, Monthly Returns of Arms and Ammunition and Ammunition Register at the Armoury Section reveals that a total number of lost firearms as at December 2018 stood at 178,459 pieces.
“Out of this number, 88,078 were AK-47 rifles, 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols across different police formations, which could not be accounted for as at January 2020.”
According to him, the value of the allegedly missing firearms could not be ascertained, as documents relating to their cost of the acquisition were not presented for examination.
