MISSING POLICE ARMS: DEPUTY MINORITY LEADER, OKECHUKWU RAISES QUESTIONS ON ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE NIGERIAN POLICE



Enugu: Rt. Hon Toby Okechukwu, Deputy Minority Leader and member representing Awgu/ Aninri / Oji-river Federal Constituency, has questioned the accountability of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), following investigation launched by the lower chamber of the Nigerian Legislature into Missing Arms in the NPF’s armoury.
According to Okechukwu, the House of Representatives decided to carry out an investigation in t to the 178,449 arms and ammunition allegedly missing from the armory of the Nigeria Police Force ( NPF).
This is coming a month after the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF), in a report revealed that over 88,000 AK-47 rifles and other firearms and ammunition in the custody of the Nigerian Police Force are missing or unaccounted for.
In the number given, 88,078 AK-47 rifles. 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols across different police formations could not be accounted for as of January 2020.A breakdown of the missing firearms showed that 601 firearms were missing from 15 training institutions; 42 in 23 formations; 1514 missing in 37 police commands; 29 missing in zone 1-12 were not also reported as required by law, with 1,721 firearms are missing in Police Mobile Force (PMF) 1-68.Reacting to this, the lawmaker who had earlier moved a motion titled ‘Need to investigate alleged missing firearms and ammunition of the Nigeria Police’ which led to the House of Representatives resolving to investigate into the problem.
Expressing alarm over the situation, Rt. Hon. Okechukwu said “I am quite disturbed that for the first time in our history all the geopolitical zones in the country, from North East where we have Boko Haram, to North West where we have terrorist and banditry, to North Central where you have tension and kidnapping, and then the restiveness and armed sabotage of the economy in the South East, and the what is happening in the South West where traditional rulers are killed and citizens are sacked from their homes.
“These are symptoms of underlying menace, and when you hear that 180,000 arms including about 88,000 AK47 and ammunitions and other arms are missing then, there isn’t any other way to state it, you would be worried that the state is not in safe hands.“When Government fails to live up to their expectation, then we find out that we have a decaying state. It is not fair to our people and as a parliament it’s not something we want to abide by or look over.
“This discovery came up from an interrogation. In the ordinary course of their responsibility from the auditor general of the federation. So I felt it was necessary and proper for us to interrogate further. It might not just be the Nigerian police alone, the other sectors. And you begin to wonder how the enemies of the state get their weapons, including at the times the borders are closed”, Okechukwu said.
Throwing more light on what the investigation is meant for, he said “We are not looking at who is holding the arms, we are looking at the processes and the protocols of what they are expected to do, the accounting protocols, how do you get this arms bought, how are they assigned, how do you check that they are returned, how are they monitored.“The expectation is that the protocol, are there some measures inherent in the police activity that should check this? If there is none then why? At the end of the day we want to ensure that the more prudent approach in monitoring what is happening is put in place. Speaking on some predominant issues facing Nigeria, he said “Nigeria has gone through a lot of dislocation, in terms of what is acceptable in the society.
For instance, you come to a funeral ceremony or go for a wedding and the presence of a VIP is announced through shooting in the air.“It is not just politicians who use the police, people and certain businesses use them more, those who want to launder their image to show they have become high profile also do this. And it has become fashionable in contemporary Nigerian history. I believe strongly that police authorities do not authorize that”, he said.
Addressing accountability on the part of the government in the situation, he said “Parliament is just an oversight to ensure all things are ok, but when things are not ok we begin to dig deeper and begin to find out where our malice is coming from.“I believe that the first way to be accountable is to understand the underlying principles in nation building. Sometimes accountability does not mean when you acquire a lot of weapon or fighter jets.
Accountability is how you manage our diversity.“My alarm is that all the zones of this country are at peril. Before now, we have had civil war which happened in the South East, we had religious riot which was happened in the West, we also had the problem where we had the Akintola/Awolowo issue, but these were restricted to zones of the country. This trouble didn’t spread all over the country”, he said.Questioning the responsibility of the different parties involved, he said “What is the commander in chief doing, what are the security institutions doing, are they absent on duty? Boko haram started in the north east and were constrained to that place and during our election they were chased away, but for the past 7 years the situation has escalated to the point that boko haram is 70km from Abuja in Niger state, and we are watching. And the major power supply of the country is in Niger state, what if they get into that place? The institutions have not been accountable.
“Government operates with carrot and stick, you pull everyone together and you discuss Nigerian security, engagement and deterrence, that is how it works. How can you be responsive, accountable to an institution when you ignore, refuse to accommodate sections of the country?“Am surprised and alarmed that up till this time in our history, this current government has not made any deliberate effort to call aggrieved Nigerians from different parts of the country and ask them what the problem is. People want an enabling environment for them to get engaged.“When you elect to have someone who is not fit for purpose in government everybody becomes a victim, but when you have somebody who is fit we all benefit. The future belongs to those who plan for it, work towards it and get it implemented.“It is our expectation that our commander in chief and those he has appointed will live up the spirit and letter of their employment”, he concluded.