Nigeria Police Force personnel deployed in the enforcement of COVID-19 related assignments and the ban on interstate movements have reportedly lamented the absence of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and special allowance as being provided for order frontline workers in the fight against deadly coronavirus.
According to a report monitored on The PUNCH on Sunday, some policemen who reportedly spoke on condition of anonymity because of the nature of their job, said since their deployment in state boundaries and intrastate patrol duties, no mention had been made of a special allowance despite the fact that they were at the risk of contracting COVID-19.
Read COVID-19 War FRONTLINERS…Nigerian Policemen Are Humans Too!
The Nigerian government had on March 29, ordered a lockdown in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun States.
The enforcement of the lockdown order is being carried out by the police and other security agencies. The police is responsible mainly for the enforcement of the lockdown order within the country hence many of its personnel have been deployed in all parts of the country to ensure compliance with the order of the president.
But some policemen have fallen victim of the deadly virus. For example, a deputy commissioner of police attached to the Zone 5 headquarters in Benin, Francis Bissong, died of COVID-19 on April 21, the newspaper reports.
On May 10, the Public Relations Officer of the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Olusegun Orisajo, said a policeman died of COVID-19 complications at the FMC in the state capital.
It was also gathered that Edo State police officers, who were manning the state boundaries are yet to get a special allowance despite the fact that they could easily be infected with the virus because they mingled with people when enforcing government’s order.
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Some of them stated that they bought face masks to protect themselves from being infected with COVID-19.
“Actually, we don’t have any form of protection. Doctors on duty have their own protection, but not our men. We have some face masks and hand gloves we made ourselves and others donated by one organisation. That’s all. But for the general insurance, there is no insurance or a special pay package like the one provided by the ministry of health for health personnel.
“We have our men who send those coming into the state back. Some of the people our men mingle with are already infected with COVID-19,” a top police officer in the state was quoted to have said.
Most officers in the line of duty while enforcing COVID-19 movement restriction order had to buy personal protective materials such as face masks, hand sanitizers and gloves with their own money because no personal protection equipment was provided by the authorities.
“We had to buy the face masks because the command did not provide for us. We expected the command or government to provide face masks, gloves, hand sanitiser for security operatives as we face the risk of contracting coronavirus daily,” an officer revealed.
Newsheadline247 also understands that face masks had not been provided for police personnel enforcing the interstate travel ban and the curfew in the FCT, despite the risks and exposure they faced daily in the course of interacting with members of the public.
Only a few senior officers were reportedly given face masks while the rank and file bought theirs.
Unlike other frontline agencies and personnel in the fight against the spread of COVID-19, the police are left out in the list of beneficiaries of special allowances provided by the government for those who put their lives at risk while on duty in the coronavirus war.
The Nigerian police personnel are humans too!
Additional Reports From The Punch newspaper
