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Senate goes after IG over missing 3,900 firearms, ₦1.136 billion, from police coffers
Kayode Egbetokun, Inspector General of Police (IGP), must be busy going through the files at the Sir Louis Edet House, at this moment to gather more facts about the whereabouts of a whopping N1.136 billion and 3,900 firearms said to be missing from the custody of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).
This is to enable him convince Senators in the Committee on Public Accounts, who have vowed to get to the bottom of the matter, despite the attempt by the police leadership to assure that there was no cause for alarm at a heated session on Tuesday where Egbetokun, leading the police hierarchy tried on that score earlier.
The committee while inquiring on multiple cases of reports of irregularities, pointed to the unclean financial reports and missing firearms, as part of its review of the Auditor-General’s report, among eight major infractions, pointing out that among the missing firearms were AK-47 rifles, believed to be in the hands of criminal elements.
Abdul Suleiman, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG-Budget), who took the darts on behalf of the force, after the IGP introduced him to the committee as equipped to handle their inquiries, during the session, had tried to assure the lawmakers that nothing was amiss, while responding to the audit queries.
With voices rising and amid tensions, which arose when some lawmakers disagreed on how to proceed, Abdul Ningi called for an executive session to discuss the matter privately and later stormed out of the meeting.
On the demand by the committee chairman that the AIG disclosed the whereabouts of the missing firearms, as it was of national importance, police boss pleaded for discretion, stating that discussions on police firepower should not be made public.
“The police will not allow these weapons to go missing at any cost, but this is a security matter best discussed privately,” he said.
With many lawmakers insisting on public accountability on the matter, Victor Umeh, Labour Party (LP) member representing Anambra Central Joel Onawakpo-Thomas, All Progressives Congress (APC), Delta South, sided with the chairman, disagreeing with calls for a closed-door session.
Umeh, who criticised the police for failing to recover the missing weapons in the face of rising insecurity across the country, said: “Thousands of AK-47s are missing at a time when insecurity is at its peak. The police should have been able to trace these arms. If over 3,900 rifles are unaccounted for, it means our security is compromised. Claiming it’s a ‘security issue’ without providing answers only raises more concerns.”
Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) who also assailed the police over the matter, insisting that the officers responsible must be identified, arrested, and prosecuted, added: “The least we expect is for you to tell us that the arms have been traced to officers who were responsible.
“must be arrested and paraded—just as the police do to ordinary Nigerians. There should be no two sets of laws in this country. These arms were procured to protect Nigerians, yet they have ended up in unknown hands. The police must account for them, and those responsible must face the law. We will not waive this issue.”
The committee, which also questioned the police over eight audit queries, including an allegation of N1.1bn in contract splitting—a violation of Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act, directed the police to provide detailed explanations regarding irregular contract awards flagged in the Auditor General’s report.
After a voice vote which went in favour of the majority, the session continued overtly, with the police explaining that some of the weapons were derived from officers killed while their weapons were carted away, adding that no arms were unaccounted for.
The Committee, which however pooh-poohed the explanation, as completely lame and dissatisfactory insisted that Kayode Egbetokun, Inspector General of Police (IGP) must appear before the members on Monday to further explain the situation.
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
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