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| The inspector general of Police, Usman Akali Baba |
The House of Representatives has commanded its Ad hoc Committee on Arms to explore affirmed 178,459 firearms believed to be missing by the Auditor-General of the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu.
As indicated by the 2019 review report, the arms which incorporate AK-47 rifles and other grouped rifles and guns from various divisions across the country couldn’t be represented by the Nigeria Police.
The House set out to test the missing arms following a motion moved by the Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechukwu (PDP, Enugu), on Thursday, during plenary.
Driving the discussion, Mr Okechukwu bemoaned the helpless record-keeping of the police on arms and ammunition.
He said the missing arms could be associated with the spike in insecurity the nation faced.
Citing from the review report, Mr Okechukwu said “the worth of the lost guns couldn’t be learned on the grounds that no record connecting with their expense of procurement was introduced for assessment.
“The police central leadership neglected to keep record of unserviceable and terminated guns and ammo attributable to resistance to the inner control arrangement of the Nigeria Police Force.”
To feature the helpless record-keeping, Mr Okechukwu alluded to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron, Abuja, where records of police and review reports go against themselves.
“Records acquired from power weapon at Force Headquarters showed 21 Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron, Abuja, didn’t report a solitary instance of missing guns, though timetable of missing arms got from a similar PMF showed a sum of 46 missing arms between the year 2000 and February 2019,” he said.
Speaking on the side of the motion, the Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), said the examination will uncover a ton.
He, nonetheless, contended that there is no compelling reason to set up a specially appointed council to examine the matter, rather a current panel researching arms ought to be accused of the test.
Thusly, the board of trustees examining arms obtainment led by Abubakar Fulata (APC, Jigawa), was accused of the examination.
Furthermore, the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Akali, was ordered to make earnest moves to catch those punishable for the consumption of the ordnance of the power.
