Commissioner of Police Enugu State, Mr Ahmed Abdurahman, has set up a two-day retreat aimed at boosting the morale of officers of the command following recent #ENDSARS protests where police suffered great loss.
In his address at the opening ceremony, he expressed regrets at the effect of the protests on the Police Force in terms of human capital and the destruction of infrastructure.
Abdurahman stated: “We lost our men and property to the protests… we were harassed and humiliated by the hijackers of the protests.
“Police have always been active in protecting the people’s lives and property but why the masses decided to make us the target still baffles me.
“Now that the masses have pleaded for our return, it is better we take the outcome of the protests in good faith,” the police boss said.
Declaring the event open, the Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, charged police officers to put the event behind them.
Ortuanya assured them that the Enugu State Government would always support the police.
He added: ”Enugu State Government is solidly behind you people and we appreciate your readiness to go back to work.
“Without the police on duty, there will be loss of lives and property, especially during the upcoming festive period.
On his part, Prof. Felix Asogwa, Director, Institute for Peace, Conflict and Development Studies and Technology (ESUT), noted that a peaceful protest was turned into a violent one in which police personnel became the biggest casualties, even as he condemned the attack.
Asogwa was optimistic that the retreat would explore ways of rejigging the Police Force and shoring up the morale of its personnel.
“One is not obvious of the fact that the police have had to perform their task in the most challenging and limiting circumstances.
“But abandoning the social space for miscreants and hoodlums to govern will imperil our very existence,’’ he stated.