Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has gifted N20 million each to the families of the 11 police personnel killed by gunmen during recent attacks on police formations in the State.
The governor, who announced this during a condolence visit to the Commissioner of Police, Friday Eboka, at the State Police Command, on Monday, tasked them to be on offensive against those who perpetrated the heinous act.
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Wike, while addressing officers and men at the Police Officers Mess in Port Harcourt, said his visit was to commiserate with them over the death of their colleagues who lost their lives while protecting the state.
He acknowledged that though no amount of money can equate human life, the state’s gesture is aimed at assuaging the bereaved families and to assure them that their loved ones never died in vain.
The governor described as heart-wrenching, the unwarranted killing of policemen, who were protecting lives and property of the citizens of the country.
He said, “In the past two to three weeks, we have lost eleven police officers and men. This is a dark period for us in the state.”
He lamented that those who carried out the killings have turned the wives of the slain policemen to widows and rendered their children fatherless, for no just cause.
The governor reiterated that no amount of vicious attacks or intimidation can compel Rivers State to become part of any secession agenda.
He maintained that the people of Rivers believe in the unity of the Nigerian State.
He added, “We must be united to fight for this country to be one. We must not allow anyone to talk about secession. If you want to secede, Rivers State is not part of it, and nobody can cow Rivers State to be part of it. Not under my watch will I allow that.”
The Commissioner of Police, on behalf of the Acting Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman, thanked the governor for assuaging the pain of the bereaved families.
Eboka told the governor that the armed men, who attacked three different police formations for no justifiable reason, gruesomely killed seven officers.
According to him, two officers, who sustained bullet injuries, are receiving treatment.
