By Okoeki Oziegbe (Lagos) and Mike Odiegwu (Port Harcourt)

Succor is underway for families of policemen killed in Lagos and Rivers states by hoodlums who hijacked the #EndSARS protests, it was learnt on Wednesday night.

Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Nyesom Wike announced special packages ranging from scholarships to their children and cash donations to families.

Sanwo-Olu, who was at the State Police Command, assured the death of such officers will not die in vain.

Directing the Lagos State Scholarship Board to award scholarship to their up to the university level, the governor also offered to take the bill of replacing the logistics lost by the police to boost the morale of officers.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, assured of his men’s commitment to strengthen security.

Sanwo-Olu said the statutory duties of the Police could not be wished away because of the actions of a few bad eggs, noting that the impact of the police officers’ absence on the roads was generally felt by residents.

He said: “the Commissioner of Police has come forward with a number of requests, which we will need to address to boost the morale of officers after the last week’s event. As your governor, I have come here to take full responsibility for the loss you have suffered in terms of logistics. From tomorrow (Thursday), we will start implementing these requests.

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“Through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), we will be replacing the police operational vehicles burnt in the violence. We have bigger plan for all the police stations burnt down. We will look for the funds and build befitting stations that will set the standard of what police stations should be.

“The most important requests is to offer scholarship to the children of officers that died. I have directed the Lagos State Scholarship Board under the Special Adviser on Education to immediately award scholarship to the children of the slain officers.”

Sanwo-Olu said the government would also be compensating family members of the officers killed in the violence and take care of the burial arrangements of slain officers, adding that the state would also be picking up the hospital bills of those injured in the mayhem.

Police officers serving in Lagos are also to get life insurance from the a State Government, Sanwo-Olu promised. The Governor directed the Executive Secretary of LSSTF, Dr. Rasaq Balogun, to establish the modality with the police leadership in the State.

The Governor also approved the request to upgrade Police Cottage Hospital in Ikeja, directing the Commissioner for Health to inspect the facility for the required upgrade.

In Port Harcourt, Governor Wike promised to pay N20 million compensation to each family of the soldiers and policemen killed by members of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the State.