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By: Felix Ikpotor
It was an emotional moment filled with teary eyes for widows of late officers of the Rivers State Police Command on Wednesday, as the State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu held a Valentine session with them.
The women who couldn’t control their emotions at the kind gesture of the Commissioner of Police, said since they lost their husbands; no Police Chief in the state has ever remembered them on St. Valentine’s Day.
The State Coordinator, Late Police Officers Wives Association, LAPOWA, Mrs. Josephine Okafor in her remark, expressed the heartfelt gratitude of the widows to the CP, describing the event as first of it’s kind in the state.
“We are so happy with today’s event and we sincerely appreciate the CP for not only remembering us, but also celebrating us in this way and on this special day. This has never happened before, since our husbands died, some were ambushed on their way to work, while some were killed by these bad boys.
“Today, our amiable CP is celebrating valentine for the LAPOWA, just after celebrating us this new year. No love is bigger than this, nobody has ever shown us this type of care. We are very grateful to the CP, and we pray God to bless him more and protect his family,” she said.
Another widow, Mrs. Ben Njoku said she can’t control her excitement at the kind gesture of the CP for doing what their husbands could have done for them on a day such as St. Valentine’s if they were alive.
“Since I came in I have been dancing. This kind of event has never taken place since I joined LAPOWA by the fact that our husbands are no more, my husband’s death was a shock to me, so an event like this is one of the days that makes me happy, this CP has put smiles on our face. It has never happened since I joined this group, so I use this opportunity to say may the Lord him and his family, and Rivers State Command,” she said.
Earlier in his remark, CP Olatunji Disu, congratulated the widows, stating that he and his team decided to celebrate and encourage the wives of late police officers in the state to make them feel loved and happy.
He said the gesture was in line with the vision of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun to support widows of late police officers who died in active service.
The CP promised that the police in Rivers State will continue to stand by the widows and ensure that they are never left alone to suffer.
He said, “We cannot be celebrating St. Valentine today without remembering the widows of our departed officers, that is why we gathered them together to felicitate with them. That is what their husbands would have done for them today if they were to be alive.
“I have to support my wife for this programme because, even the Inspector General of Police has been emphasizing it that the widows of our officers should not be left alone. Their husbands died in active duty, fighting for this country. They died bringing peace and unity to this country.
“The Inspector General is also doing something about the children of the widows by supporting their education and ensuring that they are given priority for those who want to join the police force, among others.”
He assured that he will never neglect the widows.
“The Rivers State Police Command under my watch will continue to stand by the widows. We will keep doing the little we can to make them feel loved and happy. I have told them to feel free to come to us whenever they have any problem, we will try our best to solve them.
“We are doing this because they are the ones representing their husbands, and we will not also fail to thank them for taking good care of their children. Police children are doing well everywhere and we are very happy about that. It is our wives and these widows that are achieving it,” he said.
On her part, Chairperson of the Police Officers Wives Association, POWA, in Rivers State and wife of the Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Olufunmilola Disu, said the event was organised to celebrate St Valentine’s Day which she described as a season of love with the widows of the late police officers in the state.
She congratulated the widows and urged them to always be strong and courageous promising that they would not be left to suffer with their families.
Port Harcourt Spectator reports that the Commissioner of Police also used the medium to dole out cash and food items to the over 200 widows that attended the event.
