Probe non payment of entitlements of dead officers now, Reps order IGP

THE House of Representatives on Wednesday directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP),Mr Idris Mohammed, to investigate the non payment of  entitlements owed over 3000 dead police officers over the years.

This followed the adoption of a motion moved by Honourable Oghene Egoh titled “need for dependent relatives of over 3,000 police personnel who died in active service to be paid their entitlements” at the plenary yesterday.

While moving the motion, Hon Egoh noted with concern that the Nigerian Police Force had recently revealed that the entitlements of several officers who died in active service were yet to be paid to their dependents /relatives.

The lawmaker lamented that it was disheartening that families of the officers who lost their lives in service to their country were suffering untold hardship due to the Nigerian Police Force’s failure  to pay insurance companies adequately  to cover their personnel.

He revealed that the “reason for the unpaid entitlement of the Police men being that their insurance companies assert that they did not receive premium and that since there is no premium and no cover, the insurance companies refused to pay the claims of the police personnel entitlements.”

According to him, “the families of the police men whose entitlements are not paid are suffering bitterly; many can no longer pay their rents, their children are put out of schools and the harsh economic situation in the country is making live unbearable for them

The lawmaker raised the alarm that, “if left unresolved it will  set an ugly precedent that will demoralize our dedicated men and women  labouring to sacrifice their precious lives to protect lives and properties of fellow Nigerians, and considering the importance of the Police Force to the security it would be a well-deserved honour for the men and women of the Nigeria Police who die in active Service to be paid their entitlements. To encourage the police to work hard in their duty of policing which in most cases endanger their lives.”

In his ruling, the Speaker, Hon Yakubu Dogara, mandated the  Committee on Police Affairs to carry out a comprehensive investigation on the matter and report back to the House in four weeks time  for further legislative action.