The Nigeria Police Force has stated that 3,907 arms were unaccounted for from the police armory before Kayode Egbetokun assumed office as the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

In a statement, Force spokesperson Olumuyiwa Adejobi clarified that some of these arms were taken by hoodlums during periods of civil unrest.

“The Force wishes to clarify that this report appears to be based on an assessment of the Auditor-General of the Federation’s (AuGF) 2019 report, likely reflecting records compiled before the current Inspector-General’s tenure,” Adejobi stated.

According to the report, under Issue 3b, Sub (iii), 3,907 arms were listed as unaccounted for rather than “missing,” as some reports have suggested.

He emphasized the difficulties faced by the police during civil disturbances, where several officers lost their lives, and weapons were seized. Additionally, police stations and armories were attacked and looted, contributing to the loss of arms.

However, Adejobi assured that significant efforts have been made to recover the missing weapons, with many already returned to police custody.

He also pointed out that during routine audits of police armories, auditors may not find all weapons present at a given time, as many are issued to personnel for ongoing operations, sometimes extending for months.

“This can sometimes lead to misconceptions regarding the accuracy of audit reports,” he added