Kehinde Fajobi
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun has written to the Senate, asking for future investigations into the alleged disappearance of 3,907 assault rifles to be conducted behind closed doors for security reasons.
Egbetokun also dismissed the 2019 Audited Report by the Auditor-General for the Federation, which had claimed that thousands of rifles were unaccounted for in the police armory as of January 2020, calling the report inaccurate.
In his letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Egbetokun expressed appreciation for the Senate’s commitment to a thorough investigation, emphasizing the importance of keeping sensitive matters private.
The letter, read after the passage of the 2025 budget, came two days following a tough public hearing in which police officials struggled to answer questions about the Auditor-General’s report on missing firearms.
Although present at the hearing, the IGP excused himself after a while due to national duties but strongly objected to the public scrutiny, stating that such issues should not be discussed in an open forum.
He urged the Senate to allow the police time for internal investigations, requesting that national security hearings be held privately in the future to avoid misinterpretations and security risks.
“We appreciate the Senate committee’s probe into the alleged missing firearms and urge the committee to conduct future hearings on sensitive security issues in camera so that the wrong impression is not created in the minds of Nigerians and the international community,” the letter read.
“Conducting hearings on these sensitive security issues behind closed doors will help prevent misinformation, protect national security interests, and allow for more candid discussions and fact-finding.”
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Senate President Godswill Akpabio acknowledged the IGP’s concerns, confirming that investigations will be conducted both internally by the police and externally by the Senate.
Senate Deputy Whip, Onyechachi Nwoebonyi (APC, Ebonyi North), who presided over the Senate Public Accounts Committee hearing in the absence of Chairman Aliyu Wadada, summoned the police to reappear next Monday with a more detailed explanation regarding the missing rifles.
However, following the IGP’s letter, Nwoebonyi’s attempts to justify the public nature of the initial hearing were largely disregarded by the Senate.