‘Okada riders are sleeping with our wives; pay our salaries now; pay us our 18-months’ salary; pay us our stipends and allowances now’, were some of the inscriptions on the placards carried by the protesting police constables in Osogbo, the Osun state capital, yesterday.
According to Vanguard news, the police constables, recruited to complement the police structure in the state by providing intelligence, were inaugurated in May 2021, at Police Headquarters, Osun State, after their training in April 2021.
The protesting policemen, who were wearing uniforms, converged at Osogbo Grammar School area and marched through Oke-Fia, Alekuwodo before they stormed the Ola-Iya flyover to register their grievances.
Speaking on behalf of the protesting policemen, Constable Tijani Adewale, disclosed that they are committed to their duties, despite not being paid salaries, adding that three of their colleagues have lost their lives in the course of discharging their duties.
He lamented that commercial tricyclists and motorcyclists have snatched their wives, due to their inability to discharge their family responsibilities. His words: “We have gone to the local government, met with lawmakers and dignitaries in the state, yet no positive result. We lost three persons in Ikire and one in Iree. These people died in the course of discharging their duties.
“We are very dutiful, even though we have not been paid a dime. Due to unpaid allowances, tricycle and Okada riders have snatched our wives because of our inability to take care of them. “
Meanwhile, the state’s Police Commissioner, Olawale Olokode, who later joined them at the Ola-Iya bridge, ordered them to stop the protest. He assured them that the concerned authority will intervene and that issues will be looked into.
He said: “You are embarrassing the force with your protest; you should have channeled your grievances to the appropriate quarters. You are disturbing public peace with this your protests. As far as you are wearing this uniform, we expect you to maintain high discipline as a force man.”
