The recent report that about 178,459 different types of firearms and ammunition got missing from the Nigerian police amoury in 2019 is very unfortunate. According to the audit report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the missing items include 88,078 AK47 rifles, 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols. These items could not be accounted for as at January 2020 and there was no formal report on their whereabouts.
The audit report, dated September 15, 2021 and signed by the Auditor-General of the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu, further noted: “The value of the lost firearms could not be ascertained because no document relating to their cost of acquisition was presented for examination. The above anomalies could be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system at the Nigeria Police Force Armament.”
The report noted that the police action was a contravention of paragraph 2603 of the Financial Regulations which stipulates that in the event of any loss of stores, “the officer in charge of the store in which the loss occurs shall report immediately to the head of department or unit but not later than three days, by the fastest means possible if the loss occurs away from headquarters.”
The audit report also indicted the police hierarchy for allegedly expending the sum of N3,271,439,688.30 as payment for award of contracts above approval threshold without evidence of project execution. The police high command also failed to keep record of unserviceable and expired firearms and ammunition. The audit report unearthed many other corrupt practices in the police.
The Nigeria Police Force is not the only institution where this type of corrupt act occurs. The last auditor-general’s report also indicted federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the government for failing to account for N323.5billion in 2019. The infractions include N132.5billion spent in paying unapproved allowances to staff in 20 MDAs, irregular award of contracts, payments without voucher and unretired advances. Others are payment for services not executed, internally generated revenues and other funds amounting to N127.1billion which were not remitted to the government by 15 MDAs. Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) had the highest unremitted amount of N125 billion.
Also, the NCS allegedly granted import duty waivers worth N78.5billion in 2019 to local and foreign companies in violation of financial regulations. Many of the MDAs violated rules on payments, remittances and tax. It is estimated that corruption costs Nigeria $18billion annually. This has contributed to the upsurge in crime in Nigeria. For instance, bandits in Nigeria today operate with sophisticated weapons, such as grenade launchers, machine guns, and anti-aircraft guns. It is possible that some of these weapons were acquired from the missing arms from the police armoury. Consequently, well armed Islamist terror groups and sundry bandits have continued to wreak havoc on the society. Such northern states as Katsina, Sokoto, Taraba, Kaduna and Zamfara have continued to bear the brunt of criminal attacks by bandits. Late last year, they killed at least 23 innocent travellers in Sokoto and burnt them. In Zamfara State, they had the effrontery to shoot down a Nigerian Air Force jet in July last year. Thousands of people have either been killed or kidnapped or maimed by these bandits and terrorists. Millions of others have been displaced.
There is need to mop up illegal arms and ammunition in the country. In 2018, the then Inspector-General of Police ordered state commissioners of police to engage in disarmament and recovery of prohibited firearms and ammunition. This has not yielded any positive result.
No doubt, illegal weapons trade thrives in Nigeria. It is estimated that over six million small arms are in the hands of non-state actors. A survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime indicated that illicit small and light weapons in Nigeria were about 70 per cent of the 500 million in West Africa.
There should be strict penalties for illegal possession of firearms. In June, the Senate passed the Firearms Act (Amendment) Bill 2021 that seeks to increase the fine and punishment for illegal importation and sale of firearms in Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari also transmitted two executive bills to the National Assembly last year to control arms proliferation and regulate the importation of explosives into Nigeria. This is the right way to go. Government should investigate the missing arms issue thoroughly. There should be sincere efforts to apprehend the dealers and patrons of these stolen arms. All those found culpable must be prosecuted and punished accordingly for the heinous crime.
Besides, security agents should adequately man our porous borders to ensure that illegal arms dealers are not given any chance to transact their illegal business. If we must win the war against terrorism and banditry, we must first of all plug every loophole through which illegal arms and ammunition get to non-state actors.