News

Senate Panel Grills IG Over 178,459 Missing Firearms

Published

4 months ago

February 12, 2025

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Tuesday, apologised to the Senate Public Accounts Committee for failing to honour previous invitations to respond to queries raised by the Auditor General of the Federation regarding the Nigeria Police Force.

Last week, the Committee Chairman, Senator Ahmed Wadada, had threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against Egbetokun if he continued to ignore the committee’s summons.

Speaking under oath before the committee, Egbetokun explained that his absence was due to the demands of his office and assured lawmakers that it would not happen again.

Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), who represented Wadada, accepted the apology, stating that Egbetokun’s appearance reaffirmed that no one is above the law.

At the committee’s request, Egbetokun introduced the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Police Accounts, Abdul Sulaiman, who will represent him in future committee hearings.

Meanwhile, the committee questioned Egbetokun—represented by AIG Abdul Sulaiman, who oversees accounts and budgets—over the alleged disappearance of 178,459 firearms.

According to the Auditor General of the Federation, Shaakaa Kanyitor Chira, in his 2019 audit report before the Senate Committee, 178,459 firearms, mostly AK-47 rifles, were missing from Nigeria Police Force commands and formations across the country.

Of this number, 88,078 were AK-47 rifles, Chira said, as represented by Samuel Godwin.

The report added that as of January 2020, over 3,907 firearms were unaccounted for, based on the arms movement register and firearm records reviewed by the Auditor General’s office.

The committee reviewed multiple audit queries against the police, including a case of contract splitting involving N1.1bn.

Acting Committee Chairman, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi (APC, Ebonyi North), expressed alarm over the missing weapons, linking them to worsening insecurity across the country.

He said, “This is part of the insecurity we are facing in Nigeria today. If these firearms are in the hands of criminals, it means neither we nor the police are safe. These weapons were procured with taxpayers’ money, and Nigerians deserve to know what happened to them.”

AIG Sulaiman, assisted by senior police officers, explained that some arms were lost in robbery incidents, while others were taken when officers were killed in the line of duty.

However, after reviewing the police’s records, the committee found that only 15 officers were documented as having lost their arms due to death or injury, out of 3,907 unaccounted firearms.

Under intense questioning, AIG Sulaiman requested more time to submit a comprehensive report on the investigations and status of the missing weapons.

“To me, no firearm is unaccounted for. We appeal to the committee for more time. We will submit a full report,” Sulaiman said.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) criticised the police’s response, saying the lawmakers expected clear accountability, including disciplinary action against officers responsible for missing firearms.

He said, “The least we expect is for you to tell us that these arms were indeed lost, and those responsible have been identified and sanctioned.
The police parade suspects daily; why should it be different when officers are at fault? There should not be two sets of laws in Nigeria.”

He added that the police must recover the arms or ensure those responsible face prosecution.

The committee ordered the IGP to reappear before it on Monday, January 17 2025.

News

Hope Rises As Ijaw Nation Wades Into Okomu Crisis

Published

8 hours ago

June 13, 2025

Editor

Photo: File copy

There seems to be solution at sight to the crisis bedeviling Okomu community in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State following the setting up of Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee by prominent Ijaw monarchs drawn from Edo, Ondo, Delta and Bayelsa states.

The setting up of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee by the Ijaw kings followed a request by His Royal Majesty, Pius Yanbor, the Pere (king) of Okomu Kingdom to his Ijaw brothers peres (king), appealing to them to intervene in the crisis that had led to the burning of houses and loss of lives.

Worried by the crisis and the consequent appeal by HRM Pius Yanbor, the Ijaw peres (kings), namely, HRM, Oboro Gbaraun II, the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Delta State; HRM, Zacheus Egbunu, the Agadagba of Arogbo Kingdom, Ondo State; HRM, Capt. Frank Okiakpe, the Pere of Gbaraun Kingdom, Bayelsa State; HRM, Joel Ibane, the Pere of Iduwini Kingdom, Delta State; HRM, Godwin Ogunoyibo, the Pere of Olodiama Kingdom, Edo State; HRM, Eseimokumor Ogonikara I, the Pere of Tubutoru Kingdom, Ondo State; HRM, Roman Bohan, the Pere of Furupagha Kingdom, Edo State, and HRM Stephen Ebikeme, the Pere of Oporomor Kingdom, Bayelsa State, in an acceptance memo of the Okomu king’s request which was made available to INFO DAILY stated: “We, the undersigned traditional rulers of Ijaw extraction, have unanimously aligned in agreement to take a deep dive into the crisis that has been rocking and bedeviling Okomu Kingdom for the past three years, with a view to providing respite and bringing lasting peace to the aforementioned kingdom.”

They continued: “This alignment however, is a fallout of a series of robust engagement amongst well-meaning and revered monarchs of Ijaw extraction, whose primary role in their various Kingdoms is to foster peace and unity.”

The Ijaw monarchs, thereafter, appointed Chief Sunday as the Chairman of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, High Chief Pascal Akpofagha as the General Secretary and 16 other notable Ijaw sons from various kingdoms as members.

The 18-member committee is saddled with the responsibility of interfacing with the warring parties in the kingdom with a view to restoring lasting peace to the kingdom.

The revered Ijaw monarchs further expressed their commitment to providing the necessary support and work with the committee within the ambit of the law in order to ensure peace and harmony return to Okomu Kingdom.

News

UN Flags 138 Million Kids In Global Child Labour Crisis

Published

11 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

Ahead of World Day Against Child Labour, a report released on Wednesday by the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Children’s Fund has shown that nearly 138 million children were engaged in child labour in 2024.

The figure included 54 million engaged in hazardous work that endangered their health, safety, and development.

“Today, nearly 138 million children are in child labour worldwide, down from 160 million four years ago.

“There are over 100 million fewer children in child labour today than in 2000, even as the child population increased by 230 million over the same period,” the report stated

World Day Against Child Labour is marked on June 12 every year and International Day of Play is marked on June 11.

The report revealed that while child labour had declined by more than 20 million since 2020, the world had missed its target of ending child labour by 2025.

It noted that since 2000, child labour had almost halved, yet current rates remained too slow.

To end child labour within the next five years, the report said the current rates of progress would need to be 11 times faster.

“While the elimination of child labour remains an unfinished task, there is some welcome news.

“After a concerning rise in child labour captured by the global estimates for 2020, a feared further deterioration in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has not materialised, and the world has succeeded in returning to a path of progress.

“This success can be attributed to some well-known policy imperatives that, if sustained and scaled-up, could bring about an end to child labour,” the report stated.

It highlighted that the policies included ensuring free and high-quality schooling to provide a worthwhile alternative to child labour and help ensure successful transitions from school to decent work.

Others were equipping education systems to support the school-to-work transition, particularly for older adolescents who face heightened occupational safety and health risks in the labour market; strengthening legal protections against child labour, aligned with international standards to lay the groundwork for effective prevention and enforcement, among others.

The report also said targeted policies to end child labour must go hand in hand with broader development strategies.

“And to be fully effective, child labour concerns must be systematically mainstreamed into economic and social policy planning – from macroeconomic frameworks to labour market reforms and sectoral strategies.

“The latest estimates underscore the magnitude of the challenge of ending child labour. They also point to progress, and in doing so, affirm the possibilities.

“We have the blueprint for success – the right policies, adequate resources and unwavering commitment. Now is the time to act to free future generations from child labour,” it added.

News

Journalists’ Cooperative Society Announces Formal Take-off

Published

12 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

The Innovative Media Partners Cooperative Multipurpose Society has announced its formal take-off.

The President of IMPCMS and Publisher of The Eagle Online, Dotun Oladipo, made the announcement in a statement issued on Wednesday.

According to Oladipo, the formal commencement of activities followed the completion of all registration formalities and opening of a bank account.

The statement added that this also followed the approval of the Executive Committee of the IMPCMS, which now has the full compliments of members.

Apart from Oladipo, other members of the Executive Committee include Ugomma Cookey, a member of the Board of the Media Career Development Network, as Vice President; Nkanu Egbe, Publisher of Lagos Metropolitan, as General Secretary; Ijeoma Popoola, Editor with the News Agency of Nigeria, Financial Secretary; and Dolapo Otegbayi, a prominent media and marketing consultant, as Treasurer.

The Ex-Officio Members are media trainer, Taiwo Obe; and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WVL Development Advisers Limited and former Acting Managing Director/CEO of Bank of Industry, Dr. Waheed Olagunju.

To join the cooperative society, which is for practicing journalists and media professionals, would-be members are expected to fill a form, which can be obtained at the secretariat at 1, James Robertson Street, Surulere, Lagos.

For the electronic version of the form, the statement said a WhatsApp message can be sent to: 08023204836, or email to: nkanu.egbe@gmail.com.

The cost of membership was put at N10,000, which is payable into the cooperative society’s account with the United Bank for Africa: Innovative Media Partner Surulere Multipurpose Cooperative Society, with account number 1028258688.

Among the early financial members of the society are the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and Editor of Vanguard Newspaper, Eze Anaba; seasoned broadcaster, Anike-ade Funke Treasure; eminent journalist, Dr. Hope Orivri; Publishers of Oriental News, Chika Izuora and Yemisi Izuora; and Dayo Ojo.

All members of the Executive Committee of the IMPCMS have also become financial members.

The society was formed as a fallout of the Second Nigerian Media Leaders’ Summit held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, in 2024, and organised by The Journalism Clinic, founded by Obe.