About 265 police officers have been killed in Borno State since the outbreak of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.
Chairperson, Officers Wives Association (POWA), Borno State chapter, Zara Yakubu, disclosed this at an event to welcome Hajara Alkali, POWA president and wife of IGP Usman Baba Alkali, over the weekend in Maiduguri, the state capital.
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She lamented that the families of the deceased policemen were neglected.
She said, “It is heartbreaking to note that 265 police officers have paid the supreme price in the counterinsurgency war here in Borno. They lost their lives while protecting the territorial integrity of our great country.
“Their families have been neglected and their children abandoned to their fate. They have been allowed to bear the burden of the sacrifices of their breadwinners.”
The wife of the IGP said she was determined to improve the living conditions of the families of the fallen officers as well as empower others, to serve as motivation for their husbands at the war front.
Meanwhile, Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, has approved the renovation of primary schools being attended by children of police personnel.
Zulum also directed the allocation of land to Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) for the establishment of a skills acquisition centre that will train widows and orphans of deceased police personnel.
Special Adviser, Media to the governor, Isa Gusau, said both directives were given on Saturday during the visit of the wife of Inspector General of Police and POWA President, Hajiya Hajara Usman Baba Alkali, to the Government House in Maiduguri on Saturday.
