Police Blame Missing Arms, Ammunition on Negligence, Poor Weapon Handling, Others

*Dismiss alleged infiltration of FCT by over 78 terroristfighters, say it’s false

Linus Aleke in Abuja

The police have blamed the outrageous loss of arms and ammunition from their armories nationwide on negligence by their personnel, poor knowledge of weapon handling, and insensitive deployment of personnel by senior officers.
The Police leadership also expressed dismay over the disturbing incidents of avoidable firearm losses to hoodlums.
The police raised this concern amid an ongoing parliamentary probe into the loss of firearms.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts had raised concerns over the disappearance of 3,907 rifles and pistols from various police formations across the country in 2020.
The committee also revisited the case of the reported loss of 178,459 firearms, including 88,078 AK-47 rifles from police inventory.

The concerns were raised in early February 2025, when the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, appeared before the committee to respond to audit queries flagged in the 2019 Auditor-General Report.
Egbetokun was represented by an Assistant Inspector General of Police, Sulaiman Abdul.

However, in a swift reaction, the force’s spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, clarified that the rifles were carted away by hoodlums and that the number given by the Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF) was outrageous.

But a leaked police wireless message regretted that policemen, who should be protecting the citizenry, were themselves vulnerable and had become targets of frequent attacks, stressing that they often lacked the courage to counter sudden attacks.
Consequently, the police hierarchy directed police formations and commands to urgently implement measures to stem the ugly tide.

The message also ordered police formations to immediately embark on aggressive training in musketry and firearm handling, emphasising that any loss of firearms would no longer be tolerated.
Furthermore, the message stated that supervising officers would be held accountable going forward, further directing senior police officers to submit monthly returns of arms and ammunition on or before the 23rd of every month.

Additionally, it warned that senior police officers would be held accountable if such an incident were to happen again.
The wireless message with reference number CQ: 2400/DOPS/CTU/FHQ/ABJ/VOL. 10/90, was sent to Lagos, Port Harcourt, FCT, Aba, Warri and Damaturu. Other places it was sent to include: Owerri, Maiduguri, Bauchi, Enugu, Jos, Minna, Kano, Yola, Ibadan, Makurdi, Lokoja, Gusau, Gombe, Lafia, Ilorin, Yenagoa, Uyo, FHQ, Okija, Kaduna and Uburu.
In another development, the police have dismissed as false, a viral message circulating on social media that terrorist fighters numbering over 78 have invaded the Federal Capital Territory, leading to a declaration of curfew by the police authority.

A statement by the Force Spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, stated that intelligence gathered by the Force Intelligence teams and other security agencies showed that terrorists were not taking refuge in the Lugbe area of the Federal Capital Territory.

According to him, “The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to a false and misleading message circulating on WhatsApp and other social media platforms, alleging the presence of 79 terrorists in the Lugbe axis and environs, and announcing a curfew,” saying the message was entirely untrue and should be disregarded.
“The Police Force categorically debunks the claims made in the message. From intelligence gathered by the Force Intelligence teams and other security agencies, there are no terrorists taking refuge in the Lugbe area of the Federal Capital Territory.

“The message, purportedly signed by ‘ACP Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Public Relations Officer (FPRO) Police Command Headquarters, Abuja’, is a fabrication.
“The Force believes this message was generated by a devious person or persons with the intent to create tension, incite panic, and destabilise the existing peace in the FCT,” he said.

Adejobi urged citizens to digest only news and information from the official handles of the Nigeria Police Force and and verified news sources.