By Yusufu Shehu Usman. I said it before that in the wake of the so called endSARS protest, nobody cared about the casualty suffered by the police officers. The police were killed in their numbers and many were injured but all attention and action were focused only on the protesters

It is regrettable that even the government at the highest level joined the protesters to pour venom on the police accusing them of high handedness and unprofessional manner in the conduct of their operations, just to placate the protesters

The image of the police was battered and their confidence shattered. The press was awash with the condemnation of the police, the government set up commissions of enquiry in which the police is the target

The hood looms target police officers on the streets

In such situations, there is neither respite or a hiding place for men and women in police uniform.

A police officer can not walk freely on the street without the fear of an attack from the same people he has been employed to protect

It is no longer in doubt that the work of the police has become the most dangerous engagement, most risky and sadly most thankless and most unappreciated in the society. They lack support even from their employers.

I said it in one of my posts following the end SARS protest, that in no distant future, we will be looking for people to join the police force but we won’t get them

The recent report in the Press that since the protest, police officers are unwilling to return to their duty posts and that many officers are tendering letters of voluntary resignation from the service of the police, has vindicated my opinion

I think just as the government is busy trying to placate the protesters by meeting all their demands hook, line and sinker, it should simultaneously turn attention to the plight of the police officers who were slain on the line of duty

There is need for the government to show empathy and compassion to the officers of the police force by compensating the bereaved families of those killed in the protest and those who suffered various degrees of loss and injuries in the hands of the protesters who are now favoured and pampered

We must stand by the officers and men of police and encourage them in their duty to protect us or else security will truly become every body’s business. That will be the end of law and order in our society