* Picks up 728 beggars in 7 months
* Prescribes 10 years jail term for adults using kids for begging
The Lagos State government has set up of a special team with the responsibility to comb the nooks and crannies of the State for beggars, miscreants and street hawkers, warning that anyone caught using children to beg risks going to jail for 10 years under the Child’s Right Act.
The Commissioner for Youths and Social Development, Mr. Segun Dawodu, disclosed this at a press conference in Alausa, Ikeja, saying the exercise, which would commence in a few days’ time, would be executed in conjunction with the Police.
The commissioner said the action became imperative, as according to him, the affected people constituted considerable nuisance to law-abiding citizens who were entitled to go about their businesses without any fear or hindrance, even as he noted that some of those begging were not looking for alms, but were armed to rob motorists and residents.
Dawodu said a total of 728 beggars, destitute and hawkers were arrested between January and July 2021, of which adult males were 345; adult females, 241 while children were 142.
“Beggars on our streets and roads constitute a considerable nuisance to law-abiding citizens who are entitled to go about their businesses without any fear or hindrance. This is what the administration of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu promised to address upon assumption of office. This is what it is delivering; this is what it will continue to deliver.
“Lagos State, with a population of over 20 million people, is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Lagos State has representatives of all the ethnic groups in the nation with thousands coming into Lagos daily in search of a better life. The results of this influx of people are among others, pressure on infrastructure and societal ills.
“The road to our desired destination of ‘A Greater Lagos’ has, among another man-made obstacle – ‘street begging.’ This is the whole essence of today’s briefing. It is to acquaint everyone, especially the Fourth Estate of the Realm, with the concerted efforts that the Lagos State government has made, through the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, which is saddled with the responsibility of tackling this issue,” he said.
The commissioner vowed that as a responsible and responsive government, the Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration would not fold its arms and watch the State become a haven for beggars, hence the step it is taking curb the menace.
According to him, street begging is a social vice that the State cannot afford to watch attain uncontrollable level before it acts, else, all the good plans and programmes to transform the State would be adversely affected.
“The same goes for street hawking. This has become big business to some groups of people. Our investigation revealed that beggars and hawkers (Children and Adults) are transported regularly from other parts of the country to Lagos with the sole aim of doing this odious ‘business’ that demeans humanity and abuses innocence in the case of children, who are being pushed into this degrading trade.
“These groups of people have turned alms begging and hawking into a huge business by collecting returns from beggars and hawkers, who incidentally, sleep under the bridges, motor parks, uncompleted or abandoned buildings and other places not conducive for human habitation.
“If there is ever a time for us to roll up our sleeves and toil day and night for this menace to be confined to the dustbin of history in Lagos State, it is now. Of course, the reasons for this are not far-fetched. The activities of these people on our streets impede human movement and vehicular traffic, constitute environmental nuisance and worse still, security threat.
“Intelligence reports have revealed that some of the so-called beggars go about with dangerous weapons, they assault and rob innocent Lagosians. Therefore, as a government, we cannot afford to let this continue.
“Thus, a special team has been set up to tackle this menace frontally. The operation of this Special Team will commence in the next few days. The task we are undertaking is not only to sanitize our society but also to restore the dignity of these set of people who have been sent on to the streets for alms begging and hawking.
“Therefore, to tackle this menace, the Lagos State Government through the Rehabilitation and Child Development Departments of the Ministry of Youth and Social Development has maintained a Rescue Unit saddled with the responsibility of rescuing and protecting the destitute and the vulnerable.
“This we do by combing the nooks and crannies of Lagos State to rescue and protect the destitute, mentally – challenged, street children and beggars off the streets; and after being rescued, our Rehabilitation Centres and Child-friendly Homes usually provide them with treatment, psychosocial therapy and vocational training with the aim of making them useful to themselves and the society,” Dawodu stated.
He said in embarking on the enforcement, the state government would also deploy a lot of human and material resources towards enlightenment and sensitization via different media platforms.
“For the purpose of clarity on this issue, Section 157{1(b)and(e) of the Criminal Law 2015 states that nuisance is any person who prevents the public from having access to any part of a highway by excessive and unreasonable use of it or does any unlawful act which causes inconveniences or damage to the public This is also well corroborated by Section 168 {1(b), (e)and (f)} as well as Section 276 which apart from prohibiting begging goes further to prescribe a penalty of Fifteen Thousand Naira (#15,000) for the first offence and for every subsequent offence to a time of Forty-Five Thousand Naira (N45,000) or imprisonment for three months or both, An offender under this Section may be arrested without a warrant.
“In the case of Children, Section 26 of the Child’s Right Laws also makes this an offence. And Section 210 (7) prescribes a penalty of ten (10) years imprisonment,” the commissioner said.
The State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, said taking beggars off the streets is an aspect of Lagos lives that should not be left unattended to, positing that it is dehumanizing seeing kids begging when they should actually be in school begging. He said the government is not joking to put a stop to the menace.
“For kids that should be in schools begging is dehumanizing. That the Police is here shows we are not joking with the matter,” Omotoso said.
The Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, said the police are partnering with the government to enforce the law already in place by ensuring that beggars are taken off the streets of Lagos.
“We will enforce the law, our mission is to let them know that we will enforce the law already in place. Some criminals are now pretending to be begging and they are robbers.
“If we are able to collaborate with the government and take away all these miscreants off the road, the better for Lagos. We will take them off the streets. The sponsors of these beggars would also be taking care of,” Odumosu said.