Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, the governor of Rivers State, handed N30 million to the families of three police officers from the Nigeria Police Force’s Rivers State Command who died in the line of duty in the state last year.
Police Inspectors Isaac Isodje, Saviour Udeh, and Ebenezer Edward, who worked for the State Command’s Diobu Division, were killed by armed individuals while on a stop and search duty in November last year.
The Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, who presented the cheques on behalf of Governor Wike to members of deceased officers’ families, said the gesture demonstrates Governor Wike’s commitment to ensuring that the families of police officers who died in the line of duty are not left in poverty.
“This is a token of love from Governor Nyesom Wike to the families. Though money cannot replace a life, it is a way of showing love to all officers and men who serve in Rivers State that the State Government will always be behind them no matter the situation they find themselves in.
“So, the amount here is a token of love from the Governor as a man who has the milk of human kindness and compassion to cushion the impact of this great loss,” he said.
Nsirim, who was accompanied by Mrs. Inime Aguma, a colleague in the Ministry of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, said the Governor recognizes the value of the service the police provide to the state and expressed Governor Wike’s sympathies to the State Police Command and the deceased families.
He prayed to God to give the bereaved the strength to cope with their grief.
Mr. Ebuka, the Commissioner of Police for Rivers State Command, characterized Governor Wike’s monetary gift to the families of the dead officers as an unusual show of support in the country.
He extended the Command’s appreciation to the Governor, who he said maintained his word when he informed him of the officers’ deaths.
He recalled that two of the officers were killed on November 2, last year, while conducting a stop-and-search operation in the Diobu area of the State capital, and that the third officer was killed on November 9, last year, while on a mission to apprehend the two officers’ assassins.
Mr Isaac Okeoghene, son of one of the deceased, spoke on behalf of the recipients, thanking Governor Wike for the generosity and praying that God will reward him in due time.
