Families Of Slain Police get N1millions Each In Borno

               

                 The ceremony inside the State Policemen’s Command Headquarters in Maiduguri

             

The Borno State Government yesterday presented N16 million cash, to the families of 16 policemen recently killed during a confrontation with Boko Haram insurgents. This was from a recent firefight in the Gamboru Ngala local government area of the state.
The sum of N200, 000 was also given to each of the four policemen who were injured during the attack on the border town.   
                                                                                                                                            

More than to 200 people including civilians, soldiers, and policemen lost their lives in early May when the Islamist insurgents carried out a daring attack on the border town.
The Borno State Commissioner of Police, Lawan Tanko, presented the cash of #1 millions naira to each of the families of the deceased policemen on behalf of the state government on Thursday. It was a low-key event, SaharaReporters has learned, that took place at the State Policemen’s Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.                                                                                                                                                        
According to Lawan Tanko, the state government as assistance provided the sum of N16.8 million to the families of the dead and injured policemen.
“Today as we gather here, it is a sad moment because we are here to witness the issuance of relief provided by the Borno State Government, to the families of some of our colleagues we lost at the Gamboru Ngala attack,” Tanko said.                                                                                                                                            
He explained to the families that the money is just “an assistance,” and not the payment of death benefits, adding that the arrangement is already in place for the payment of the fallen men. The cash benefits to the families are in line with one of the cardinal objectives of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, which is the welfare of the policemen.
One of the wives of the deceased policemen, Kuve Mathew, said that "the money given can't bring back our love ones back, but we thank government for this hand of gesture It will go a long way," she said in a voice full of emotion as she broke down in tears.                                                                                                     
Kuve Mathew therefore had urged the Federal Government to provide policemen with sophisticated weapons so that they will be able to confront insurgents, and other criminals.
“If they are provided with sophisticated weapons, maybe some of them might still be alive today” Kuve Mathew said, as she and others at the event nodded in agreement and sobbed as the event wound down.