Lagos Beggars Now Armed With Dangerous Weapons-Commissioner

The commissioner, Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Olusegun Dawodu, disclosed this at a press conference organised for the special team set up to curb street begging, held in Alausa, in Lagos

Dawodu said the special team is set up by the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, in conjunction with the Police Command, to curb street begging and hawking in Lagos State.

According to him: “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.”

He disclosed that the operation of the special team will commence in the next few days.

He added: “The task we are undertaking is not only to sanitise 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.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, psycho-social therapy and vocational training with the aim of making them useful to themselves and the society.”

He disclosed that in embarking on this enforcement, the state will also deploy a lot of human and material resources towards enlightenment and sensitisation  through different media platforms.