Disobedient Boys: Despite Arresting Drivers For Not Having Car Insurance , Nigeria Police Refused To Insure Its Own 41 Vehicles Worth ₦3.2 Billion And Aircraft

Secrets Reporters

The Nigeria Police Force acquired 41 vehicles in 2023 at a cost of ₦3,238,387,012.50 and did not insure a single one of them. Its aircraft were uninsured too. And at Force Headquarters, a large stock of obsolete but still-lethal firearms sat warehoused with no record of what would become of them.

These are the review findings of the Force Headquarters for the 2023 financial year, obtained by SecretsReporters, which recorded ₦3,525,889,097.50 in financial irregularities across two quantified findings, alongside a third finding involving the unaccounted firearms.

The 41 vehicles were bought in 2023, yet when it was checked in July 2024, no insurance policies or certificates existed for any of them. Nigeria Police Force aircraft were similarly uninsured throughout the year.

That is a direct breach of Establishment Circular Ref. No. SGF/OP/I/S.3/VII/981 of 21 July 2008, which requires every federal agency to insure all its assets fully and adequately with registered insurance companies. Section 68 of the National Insurance Act 1997 goes further: no vehicle, government vehicles included, may be used on Nigerian roads unless third-party liability is insured with a registered insurer.

In other words, for an entire year, more than ₦3.2 billion worth of police vehicles  and the Force’s aircraft operated with no cover at all. Had any of them been involved in an accident, the liability would have fallen on the public purse.

The review also found that ₦287,502,085.00 in prior years’ liabilities was paid out of the current year’s budget allocation. Paragraph 314 of the Financial Regulations 2009 does not permit this. Any prior-year obligation that cannot be met within its own year’s estimate requires a supplementary provision or a virement application. The regulation is equally clear that an unspent balance on a current expenditure vote cannot be revoted.

The third finding concerns a significant number of obsolete firearms found warehoused at the Force Headquarters Armoury at the time of review. Though obsolete, the weapons remained lethal and capable of being misused. They were not properly kept, took up space that could have been put to more productive use, and there was no evidence the Force had begun any process to destroy them.

Paragraph 2618 of the Financial Regulations 2009 requires that unserviceable stores authorised for destruction be disposed of properly, with a signed certificate of destruction witnessed by at least two officers. No such certificate existed.

The Force’s management response to all three findings is recorded in the review as: “No response.”

Kayode Egbetokun served as Inspector-General of Police from 19 June 2023, covering the majority of the reviewed financial year, through to his resignation on 24 February 2026. Usman Alkali Baba served as Inspector-General for the first months of 2023 until his retirement in June that year. Tunji Disu has held the position since 24 February 2026.

Paragraph 3129 of the Financial Regulations 2009, which covers gross misconduct, applies to both the uninsured assets finding and the unaccounted firearms finding.