Wives of officers of the Nigerian Police Force have called on the Federal Government to provide adequate protection for their husbands while on the line of duty.

“The lives of police officers matter,” they said.

At an event welcoming Hajara Alkali, POWA president and wife of IGP Usman Baba Alkali, over the weekend in Maiduguri, the chairman Borno State POWA, Zara Yakubu, said that over 260 police officers have been killed in Borno State since the outbreak of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.

“Their families have, as a result, been exposed to all forms of hazards and vulnerabilities,” POWA said.

“It is heartbreaking to note that about 265 police officers have paid the supreme price in the counter-insurgency war here in Borno. They lost their lives while protecting the territorial integrity of our great country.

“Their families have been neglected and their children abandoned to their fate. They have been allowed to bear the burden of the sacrifices of their bread winners,” Zara Yakubu noted.

In response, wife of the IGP said she was determined to improve the living conditions of the families of the fallen officers as well as empower others, to serve as motivation for their husbands at the war front.

She donated grinding machines, deep freezers, tailoring equipment and other items to 500 widows of fallen police officers.

(The PUNCH)