…Plan protest in Maiduguri
Operatives of Police Mobile Police (MOPOL) Force unit on special duty in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, have cried out that they continue to live in starvation, frustration and neglection over unpaid allowances by the Federal Government.
While agitating for the payment of their unpaid allowances, the MOPOL officers on special duty have threatened to storm the streets on Monday to express their grievances.
This is coming days after Police officers mounted barricades on roads to protest the unpaid allowances at Batsari Local Government, Katsina State.
Speaking on the development in a telephone interview with newsmen, a Police Inspector and resident of Maiduguri who prefers to be anonymous, bitterly narrated what MOPOL officers are going through as a result of unpaid allowances.
Lamenting the poor and deplorable situation of things, the police inspector told newsmen that MOPOL officers have no access to food, clean and drinkable water and have received no allowance for seven months.
The Police Inspector also disclosed that some officers have lost their lives as a result of frustration while some officers have lost their morale to fight criminals.
When asked if only MOPOL officers in Maiduguri have not been paid their allowances, the Police Inspector said it is affecting mobile police officers in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.
When further asked if they had taken any step to ensure the payment of their allowances, he replied that they have called for a general meeting where they resolved to protest, appeal to the government to come to their rescue, and to ask if it is indeed the Federal Government owing them or rather their senior officers in the Force.
The Police Inspector disclosed that they were asked to stop the protest last week with the promise that at least four months unpaid allowances, out of the seven months owed, will be settled.
He further revealed that the MOPOL officers have resolved to storm the streets on Monday to show their grievances if there is no positive development by Monday.
However, neither the MOPOL unit nor the State’s Police Command were able to respond to the allegation.
