By Cajetan Mmuta, Linus Aleke and Nimake Earland
Following the disclosure by the Auditor-General of the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu, that an estimate of 178, 459 Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs) got missing from the armoury of the Nigeria Police Force in 2019, stakeholders have expressed divergent views over the claims.
Aghughu also revealed that 88,078 AK-47 rifles and 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols from police formations across the country in 2020 cannot be counted for. However, while some security experts disagreed with claims on the grounds that the figure might have been blown out of proportion, others said if true, winning the fight against insecurity might take some time.
A security expert and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Apex Safety and Security Consultants, Abuja, Mr Mike Ejiofor, said, “I am not speaking for the police and I also know that the police has also not reacted to that audit report. If such a figure that is being bandied by the audit report is missing from the police armoury, the first question would be what number of arms the police has that this amount would be missing. Specifically, I don’t rely on that audit report and the figure until the police come out with a statement.
“I am not also saying that arms are not missing from all our security agencies not only the police. There have been reported cases of arm missing, which is a well-known fact. But that figure being bandied, I doubt it. I am not saying that it is not true but I also expected that police should have reacted to it by now, but they are yet to react to it to the best of my knowledge.”
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (InterSociety), while reacting to the report through its Chairman, Mr Emeka Umeagbalasi, described as “on the surface value” the report of the Auditor-General on the missing of weapons from the armoury of the Nigeria police.
He said the actual projected number of small arms and light weapons in circulation and wrong hands in the country could not be substantiated or compared with the figure acclaimed to have been uncovered and reported.
“Nigeria is “expertly projected to have over five million SALWs in wrong hands. This stems from the years of uncontrolled violent crimes and ethnoreligious wars, unchecked movement of illegal migrants, armed banditry, activities of hoodlums, gangs, and other criminal elements across the six geo-political zones of the country.
“Aside, the report on missing arms and ammunition from police armoury, the unaccounted ones that disappeared from other security agencies such as the army, navy, air force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps as well as other paramilitary agencies and vigilante groups including those illegally acquired leave one in utter disbelief.
“The Auditor General’s report only confirmed the porousness and lack of safety of licit or small arms and light weapons under the custody of the State actors which worsen the proliferation of SALWs in Nigeria.”
“On its surface, the Auditor General’s report of the missing 178,469 arms and ammunition including 88,078 AK-47 rifles and 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols from police armoury across the country as of January 2020 may sound shocking and unheard of, but in terms of available independent statistics, the number discovered is too insignificant to compare with the actual projected number of small arms and light weapons in circulation and wrong hands in the country.”
“This is even as the country is expertly projected to have over five million SALWs in wrong hands in the country. But strictly speaking, the country’s SALWs tragedy and its insecurity cannot be substantially blamed on the discovery of a mere 178,459 SALWs which is not sufficiently responsible for the country’s security challenges or its root causes. “The root causes of the country’s insecurity truly lie in the fact that the country is seized by jihadists and jihad enablers who have also found their way to the country’s power corridors.
“The present dire situation in Nigeria is likened to the ousted Islamist Government of Sudan and its use of the Janjaweed to perpetrate and perpetuate the non-state actor crimes and other forms of atrocities, these are exactly the case in Nigeria whereby apart from illicit arms moving freely into the country and steadily in wrong hands through illicit arms trading and shipment especially through the country’s four major transnational borders and its major waterways.
“In all, the arms stolen from security forces by the Islamic or Jihadist terror groups and street criminal entities are only about 3 per cent of the total small arms and light weapons in wrong hands in Nigeria and cannot validly be the root or major cause of the country’s insecurity or security challenges alone,” he said.
For Halliru Usman, a Public affairs analyst, it all has to do with sabotage against the Nigeria Police Force.
“It is sabotage against the good-spirited effort of the force. If you can recall a similar case of late DSP George Iyamu, who was implicated and indicted and eventually prosecuted and executed alongside Lawrence Anini and co, forgiving arms to them.
“The implication is that it will hinder the fight against crime but something can be done to mitigate the negative effect and that is by intelligence and information gathering which can be given by the public or even members of the force and other security agencies.
“Also when the public is made to be aware of the progress being made by the police in terms of crime detection and prevention, they will be encouraged. Another strategy is if you can have whistle-blowers within the system to expose bad eggs, it will greatly ameliorate the efforts of the police.
“If information is given time and there is a free flow of information without prejudice. If the informants are assured of their anonymity, it will help in the free flow of information between the general public and the force. Correct and reliable information is also one of the most crucial ways in abetting sabotage in the system.”
Nasarawa police arrest man for allegedly raping an 80-year old woman
The Nasarawa State Police Command says it has arrested a 43-year-old man for allegedly raping an 80-year-old woman in the state.
A statement was signed by the Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, ASP Ramhan Nansel, confirmed in Lafia, yesterday.
The statement said a complaint was lodged at Garaku Division of the Police Command on January 14, 2022, at about 22:30pm, on the incident.
According to the statement, the accused was one 43-year-old Dan’Asabe Eddo, an indigene of Kaduna State, but resident in Kundami village, Garaku, Lokonga local government area of Nasarawa State.
“He allegedly went into the residence of an 80-year-old woman, who stays alone in the same village, and forcefully had carnal knowledge of her.
“Upon receipt of the complaint, police operatives attached to the Garaku Division immediately swung into action, and got the suspect arrested.
“Upon interrogation, the suspect admitted that he committed the offence, but blamed it on the devil.
“Upon notification, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Adesina Soyemi, directed that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Lafia, for further investigation,” the statement said.
The statement urged members of the public to pay special attention to the elderly, and guard them against gerontophilia.
Meanwhile, the management of the Federal University of Lafia (FULafia), says the four students of the institution who were abducted on January 13 have been released by their abductors.
The announcement of their release is contained in a statement signed by Abubakar Ibrahim, Head, Information and Public Relations Unit of the institution and made available to newsmen yesterday in Lafia.
According to the university’s spokesperson, the students were released at the late hours of Saturday, January 15.
He added that the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the university, Prof. Shehu Abdul-Rahman, expressed gratitude to the state government and the public for their contributions, prayers and support during the trying moment.
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He further said the VC expressed appreciation to the security agencies for their timely interventions that led to the quick and safe return of the students.
“Consequently upon their release, the students have undergone medical checks and they were all found to be in good condition to immediately resume their studies.”
He called on the students to remain calm and go about their normal activities on both campuses of the university.
Ibrahim, therefore, assured the parents, students and the public of the institution’s commitment to making lives and property safe in and around the campuses.
