From CHUKS AKUNNA, Abuja and CHRISTOPHER OJI
The irony of the Nigerian civil service came into play last week with the embarrassing disparity in the welfare of policemen and their Department of State Security (DSS) counterparts. It came to the fore with the compensation being paid to securitymen who died in the recent massacre in Nasarawa State. The Ombatse sect in Alakyo killed about 121 servicemen in an ambush. The police force lost 91 men, DSS's 10 while the military lost some personnel.
The DSS last week doled out N10 million each to the families of its 10 operatives killed in the ambush.
In contrast, families of each of the 91 policemen killed in the same ambush will get N500,000 from the Nigeria Police Insurance Scheme.
But realising that the insurance cover of N500,000 to each slain policeman may not be in tandem with today's economic realities, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, at the weekend said in Lagos that he has ordered the authorities to double the compensation to N1million.
He disclosed this while inspecting the rehabilitation of Police College, Ikeja (PCI), by the Nigerian Army Corps of Engineers.
DSS sources told Daily Sun that the leadership of the service met with the next-of-kins of the slain officers last week in Abuja.
"Before now, each operative killed in active service got N5 million. But the present D-G (Director-General) upped it to N10 million, which is often paid less than one week after the death of the operative, devoid of any red tape. What senior officers get is far more than N10 million," the source offered.
He said that the N10 million was beside the statutory benefits and entitlements of the dead operatives.
In addition to the N10 million which was paid to every family of slain DSS operative, the service is to build a befitting house for each of the deceased.
The source noted that the DSS might name major projects after the slain operatives as a way of immortalising them.
"We don't want anything that would dampen the morale of our operatives and officers. After all, they are human. If you treat their dead colleagues shabily, how do you expect them to put in their best? The reason we try to cushion the trauma of the death of our operatives," the source stressed.
However, the dependants of each policeman killed in active service, according to the Police Insurance Scheme, are entitled to N500,000.
The family of every commissioned police officer killed in active service is N1 million.
Leadway Insurance Plc is the official insurer to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
According to the NPF website, the insurance scheme was created in 1992, and provides covers for officers and men of the Nigeria Police. Each serving member, the website stated, contributes part of his/her monthly salary to the scheme, depending on their ranks.
The scheme covers death benefit, permanent disability benefit, medical expenses benefit, and withdrawal benefit.
Police sources, however, told Daily Sun that families of dead policemen go "through the mill" to get the N500,000. They explained that the delays stem from bureaucracy to problems from the dependants of the killed policemen.
On how the DSS is able to pay each dead operative's family N10 million, the source explained that the money was sourced from its operation's budget.
"Each security organisation has funds for operations. If your officer or men are killed and you fail to give their families some palliatives, your operations will surely suffer." Daily Sun contacted a senior police officer who doesn't want to be named at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, who said that he would react to our story today.
Recall that Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura had in the wake of the Alakyo ambush doled out N1 million each to the widows of the slain policemen.
Meanwhile, IGP Abubakar said the N1 million had become imperative to lessen the burden of the wives, children and other dependants of the slain policemen.
He noted that the gesture was a rare, but timely in the annals of the police, aside the entitlements and benefits due to the affected officers and men who died on duty.
The IGP, however, described the unwholesome act of the perperators of the heinous, as one of the saddest moments, barbaric and crude. He vowed that those behind the attacks will face the music.
Besides, Abubakar spoke during the inspection of the rehabilitation of 35 buildings within the PCI, where he thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for his prompt action in coming to the aid of the oldest police training school in the country.
According to him, "I thank Mr. President for the prompt action given to the Police College, Ikeja.
"My thanks also go to the Nigerian Army Corps of Engineers for the speedy completion of work. And this shows that Mr. President cares and loves. This is an act patriotism that Mr. President has shown for this institution. The Police College, Ikeja is an institution where many officers have passed through".
Also speaking, Special Adviser to the President on 'Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation', Prof. Sylvester Monye, noted that the Channels Television video clip which exposed the bad state of facilities at the PCI alerted Mr. President who wasted no time to pay an unscheduled visit to the college on January 18, this year.
Distraught by the sorry state of facilities at the college, the presidential aide said the Nigerian Army engineers had to be invited to carry out renovation work.
He noted that sufficient annual budgetary allocations for the maintenance of the college would be made available.
However, Commander, Nigerian Army Corps of Engineers, Maj. Gen. Funsho Owonibi, while briefing the IGP over the extent of work his team had carried out, recalled that his unit was given a marching order on February 15, 2013 to move to the PCI to effect rehabilitation work.
He said the Army engineers started with demolition of decrepit structures, while some roofs had to be removed and new tiles laid.
According to him, "we had replaced louvres, with sliding windows. Also, we have procured new furniture like bed and wardrobes for the trainees. We have 2,000 beds which we have completed. The company that is handling the furniture is located within the Police College, Ikeja premises. We have also constructed five boreholes, rehabilitated three and in two weeks' time, we will complete the rest", said the commander.
Via: Sun News Online