Kano: Slain 40 police officers’ families cry out

Families of 40 police officers who lost their lives to a coordinated attack by the Boko Haram sect in Kano are yet to receive any form of compensation from the Federal Government through the police authorities.
The plight of the families were expressed on Thursday, in Kano, when the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North, led by Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Taminu Turaki, paid a visit to Bompai police command headquarters.
He, however, said that “no responsible government will sit down and allow a group of individuals to threaten lives and properties. The issue is that those who want to take the option of dialogue will have it; and those who want to continue to fight will continue to fight.”
Authorities of Kano police command  said families of the slain officers had not received any form of support from the government since the ugly  incident of January 20, 2012.
However, the committee was informed that the command lost 40 officers in that single attack, while a total of 192 persons were killed, including security personnel from the Department of State Security Services (DSSS), Immigration and Customs.
He also cleared the air on the insinuation that the emergency rule in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states would jeopardise the activities of the committee, pointing out that “there is no contradiction between the emergency rule and the committee. Nigeria is not at war. Even in countries where there is war, dialogue is also applied.”
The authorities equally told the committee that over 6,000 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were intercepted by the command’s Bomb Disposal Unit, most of which were detonated.
The visitors were taken round the police headquarters where they inspected assorted explosives seized from suspected militants of the Islamic sect.
The head of the committee told the bereaved families that “you are not going to be abandoned. You are not going to be rejected. We will take your case to the Federal Government and through our recommendations, Mr President will surely attend to your needs and support you.”
Tribune