- written by Lawal Ibrahim, Gombe -
Despite assurances by police authorities that families of slain policemen get paid their entitlements and benefits, at the death of a police officer, their families often become apprehensive of not getting paid largely due to past experiences suffered by other families who met a similar fate.
Hajia Hafsat, a widow in Gombe who is mourning the recent killing of her two sons who are police corporals by the Boko Haram sect is one such person. Since the killing of her two sons who were corporals serving with the Nigeria Police Force, life has not been the same for the sixty-year-old mother in Kumo. The aged Hajiya Hafsat lost her two sons concurrently on what the families describe as two ‘Black Fridays’ in separate attacks by Boko Haram at Damaturu and the recent January 20th attack in Kano State.
The deceased corporals, Idris Garba and Bala Garba Abari, left their two pregnant wives (Aishatu and Binta) with five little children in the care of their aged mother whose source of livelihood hitherto rested squarely on her deceased husband, Mallam Mohammed Na-Musa, who died six years ago. She stated that though many families were affected in different ways by the Boko Haram attack, she will however consider herself as the worst victim, having lost her two precious sons. “The youngest one was the first to bid me farewell to go to Damaturu and promised to come back, but he never did. The eldest one, after the burial of his brother also bid me farewell to go to Kano, he too never came back.”
Hafsat is worried that although her two sons died in the active service of their fatherland, so far not even a single word of condolence has come from the police authorities to the family. She now fears her sons may not finally get the entitlement benefits due to their families after their death.
The younger corporal, Idris Garba who was the first victim went to Damaturu to pick his belongings after he was transferred to his home state, when he was caught in the attack at the police headquarters in Damaturu. When the elder Garba concluded arrangements with some family members to travel to Damaturu and start pursuing his deceased brother’s benefits, the family met and advised him to hold on until the security situation in the area improved.
An uncle to the deceased, Isiyaku Hashim says the family had to prevail upon the elder corporal to take heart and report back to work after the killing of his brother because he has already made up his mind to resign. Hashim said: “On hearing of the Kano attack, the family called to find out about the status in Bala’s command at the police headquarters in Bompai, and he answered his phone and reassured us of their safety, only for the story to change some few hours after, as he was killed.”
Hajiya Hafsat now pleads with the police authorities to assist in securing the release of the deceased’s benefits to the family to enable them support themselves and pay the school fees of their children. Two other family members who are police officers have been under intense pressure from some elderly members of the family to leave the police force to avert the possible repeat of the tragedy that befell their two deceased brothers.
Mohammed Garba, a family member who just got enrolled into the police training college in Bauchi said: “Though the tragedy that befell the family is painful, we have succeeded in convincing other family members to agree that death is inevitable and it will come when and where it must.”
