Nigeria Police has clarified that its personnel seen blocking its Borno headquarters earlier today in Maiduguri, were not staging a protest, but were merely complaining over the delay in paying their special duty allowances.

Force Police Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood said some of the Police Mobile Force personnel on Special duty only went to the command to enquire about the delay in the payment and not to protest.

Moshood, an Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police, said the personnel who went on enquiry were not those attached to Operation Lafiya Dole in the fight against insurgency in the North East.

He said they were those on the category of visiting PMF units deployed in Maiduguri on Crime Prevention and other Police duties in the State.

“The force wish to categorically state that it is not correct that police personnel protested in Maiduguri today July 2,“he said.

Moshood said the Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris, had directed the Commissioner of Police in Borno to address them why the delay in the payment of their special duty allowances.

He also assured them that with the approval of the budget, the allowances would be expeditiously processed and paid without any further delay.

The spokesman said the IGP also ordered the Commissioner of PMF to proceed to Borno and other States in the North East where personnel are deployed on special duty.

He said the commissioner should also inform them on efforts being made by the force to ensure timely payment of their allowances.

The Nigeria Police Force is a disciplined organisation and will not allow any situation to degenerate into disturbance of Public Peace anywhere in the Country,“he said.

The protest disrupted traffic on the road.

Commissioner of Police in the state, Damian Chukwu, blamed the non payment on the delay in the passage of the 2018 budget.

He called on the protesting policemen to calm down and assured them that their allowances would be paid.