The Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, has begun the distribution of N13 billion ($32.6 million) as compensation to officers who were injured and the families of officers who died in the line of duty.
On Thursday, Baba presented cheques to the families of the deceased officers during a ceremony.
Speaking at the event, Baba revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the sum of N13,628,535,580 for outstanding claims of 6,184 police officers.
He urged the families to use the funds responsibly and acknowledged that no amount of money can replace the lives lost.
According to Baba, upon his assumption of office in April 2021, he brought the issue of unpaid claims to the attention of the President and requested the release of funds to pay the outstanding claims to the families of deceased police officers.
The President approved the release of funds to pay the backlog of 6,184 personnel who had fallen under the uninsured/uncovered periods of group life assurance and group personal accident insurance scheme, from 2012 to 2020.
In addition, Baba announced that the Nigeria Police Force has incorporated the Nigeria Police Insurance Company.
The company will be responsible for handling all insurance-related issues for the force once it receives its practice license.
Baba stated that the Nigeria police institution is the country’s largest agency for insurance contributions and that this initiative will allow the force to be wholly responsible for their insurance needs and ease the insurance processing of personnel.
