EXCLUSIVE: EndSARS: Police Ministry Sits On Report That 35 Officers Died, 146 Injured And N18 Billion Lost

Nearly a year after a police committee report disclosed that 35 officers lost their lives and 146 sustained serious injuries across 16 states badly affected by the EndSARS riot, the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi has failed to act.

The report, seen by THE WHISTLER, also said that the audit of properties lost to the riot by the police in monetary terms amounted to over N18bn, including equipment, vehicles and over 340 arms and 8000 ammunition.

The committee of senior personnel of the force was asked to do an inventory shortly after the EndSARS protests and report back to the minister in two weeks. The report was subsequently submitted in November 2020.

But since then, the ministry has failed to make any move on addressing the issues. The development has generated concern within the hierarchy of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) with some asking why the police force “always suffers from neglect.”

Police stations, personnel and facilities were the largest casualties of the riots that erupted in some parts of the country during the EndSARs protests in October 2020.

The findings and recommendations of the committee were to help expedite the replacement of facilities and compensation or palliatives for victims.

But up till now there has been no action from the ministry, a development which is adding to growing frustrations among personnel of the force.

Some top officers who spoke to THE WHISTLER expressed concern that the ministry has refused to act despite the “colossal loss” suffered by the force.

 “Police stations burnt and vehicles destroyed during EndSARS have not been replaced in many states. Families of the dead officers and injured policemen are still languishing, nobody cares about them, this is not right”, a Deputy Commissioner of Police told THE WHISTLER.

The Public Relations Officer of the ministry, Bolaji Kazeem, said he had not seen the report and asked for time to investigate.

The next day when THE WHISTLER called him again, he said “I cannot confirm, please give me time to contact someone who has it.”

In his first outing as the police affairs minister, Dingyadi said that the President created the ministry of police affairs “to give special attention to police issues, with a view to repositioning the police for better service delivery.”

But police officers, who spoke to this website on condition of anonymity, said the minister and the ministry had not lived up to the promise.

 They alleged that neither police salaries nor allowances have been increased as promised while the dangers personnel face daily in the discharge of their duties have increased to an “emergency level.”