On Wednesday, some police officers working for the Osun State Command said that 38 days after the governorship election, they still hadn't received their duty allowance for covering it.
About 140 policemen from the State Investigation Bureau (SIB), 30 from Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD), and about 160 mobile police officers from MOPOL 39, according to the officers who spoke anonymously to journalists in Osogbo, claimed they had not received their wages.
One of the policemen said that all other police personnel sent for the election coverage, including those deployed from outside the state, had received their allowances.
He claimed that despite their efforts to determine the cause of the non-payment, the Force Headquarters had provided no specific information.
He said it would be against the code of service to protest in demand for the allowance but appealed to the Inspector General of Police to look into their case.
Another officer said those mainly not paid were officers attached to the Osun Police Command but administratively handled by the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
He said all the officers on General Operation in the state (wearing uniform) that covered the election had been given their allowances, saying the reason for their non-payment was not clear to them.
When contacted about the issue, the Osun Police spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, said she was not aware of officers not paid for the election coverage.
She, however, said any officer that had not been paid allowance could take it up with the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Newsmen report that some police officers, not paid election coverage allowance, similarly protested in July in Osogbo .
The Force PRO, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement then, said the delay was caused by their banks.
Mr Adejobi said contrary to the claims of the officers who spoke to journalists, some of those who were deployed for the Osun election started receiving their entitlements before the election began.
He said the payment was disbursed directly into individual officers’ accounts from the Police Accounts and Budget (PAB) Office and not through any State Police Command