destitute have been convicted just as
1,708 of them were sent packing from
Lagos State to their various states and
countries by the government.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth and
Social Development, Dr. Dolapo Badru, said this
on Thursday during a press conference in Ikeja.
Reacting to the civil society organisations's
condemnation of the government's clampdown
on beggars, he said the present administration
respected the rights of persons living with
disabilities, adding that government would,
however, not bend the law when such groups of
persons fall foul of the law.
He said, "Nearly everyday when my men go on
enforcement, this same set of people draw
daggers and knives on my staff; they stab and
bite them to evade arrest because they broke the
law and when such a person is taken to court to
be convicted, a person sits down in his air-
conditioned office raining abuses on us for doing
what is right."
He noted that some of those convicted posed as
beggars in the traffic to rob unsuspecting
motorists. He vowed that government would not
stop its clampdown on them until the trend was
nipped in the bud.
He said the 1,708 beggars and destitute ejected
from the state were either sent back to their
states of origin, while foreigners among them
were repatriated.
He said the rehabilitation office dealt with the
issues of begging and destitution in the state and
that in line with the government's policy of
ridding the streets of such persons, the office
had consistently embarked on an aggressive raid
of beggars, mentally challenged and the destitute
from the streets, highways and bridges of Lagos.
Badru stated that the mode of getting this
category of persons into the rehabilitation
centres was by referrals from members of the
public and rescue operations carried out by the
Office of Youth and Social Development.
He said, "In the last one year, a total number of
3,114 beggars, destitute persons and mentally
challenged were rescued in day and night
operations.
"No fewer than 2,695 were taken to the
Rehabilitation and Training Centre, Owutu,
Ikorodu, where government has provided
facilities to help in turning their lives around.
"Forty-eight children and toddlers were
transferred to the Child Protection Unit; another
48 street children, cleaning windscreens at
intersections, were rescued and transferred to
the Special Correctional Centre for Boys,
Oregun; eight were transferred to the Child
Transit Home, Idi Araba, while 315 Persons (203
male and 54 female) suspected to be criminals
were handed over to the task force for
prosecution."
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