Police in Nigeria have served notice of their intentions to embark on an unprecedented two-week nationwide warning strike across to protest against their poor working conditions.
According to New Telegraph, the two-week strike would commence on Saturday, March 26.
The police men and women are demanding changes in their poor salaries, lack of genuine welfare benefits and outdated weapons.
They are also condemning government’s insensitivity to the continuous killing of their colleagues by armed robbers and terrorists, without adequate compensation for their families.
In a letter to Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba sighted by the New Telegraph, the representatives of the aggrieved police officers are demanding improved conditions of service, particularly salary increase and provision of modern weapons as they tackle the security challenges facing the country.
Read the letter: “The Nigeria government lied about the increment of police salary on March 10, 2022. It has been observed with utmost dissatisfaction how the Federal Government and the Minister of Police Affairs lied to the general public about the increment of our salaries. It has always been discussed on every occasion that the increment would be done since the incident of the #EndSARS protest that led to the loss of many lives of the men of the force.
“More so, it has been observed by the men of the force that there’s nothing good the Federal Government would do for the police, because they had already made an announcement that they’ve increased our salary which is not true.
“With the lackadaisical attitude of the government and the Ministry of Police Affairs, it shows that there was nothing like a salary increment.”
The aggrieved police officers have however insisted they “deserve to be treated with respect by the government as they protect almost every political personality.”
They lamented that they were treated like slaves despite their contribution to national development.
“We don’t have good salaries and our gratuities are very poor compared to what’s obtainable in other parts of the world,” they said.
Meanwhile, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CSP Muyiwa Adejobi when asked to respond to the possibility of the force going on strike, replied that they would react to the story later.
Worried by the strike threat, the police hierarchy has accelerated the letter to the Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi for his urgent attention. (New Telegraph)
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