Stories by Sarah NEGEDU
Street beggars and destitute are in for tougher days ahead, as the Social Development Secretariat, SDS, of the FCT Administration has declared war against all forms of activities that constitute environmental nuisance in the territory.
The acting director, Social Welfare Services of SDS, Malam Sani Rabe, made the declaration when he led an enforcement team of security agencies and evacuation squad to arrest beggars and destitute within the city centre.
Rabe, who added that no form of child abuse will be tolerated in the FCT, disclosed that over 217 street beggars and destitute have been arrested by the enforcement team within three days of the renewed efforts to rid the city of environmental nuisance and other social vices.
Our correspondent gathered that the enforcement team arrested and evacuated beggars and destitute at Gwarinpa, Galadima Junction, Maitama, around National Mosque and the city centre.
The director, however, assured that the operation would be sustain until the city was free from street beggars and destitute, while urging religious leaders to educate the public on the implications of begging.
“We arrested many beggars with substantial among of money keep with them yet some of them are sick, malnourished, they don’t take care of themselves as they leave in a very dirty environment.
“We have in record at the FCT Bwari Area Council Rehabilitation Center, where we used to organised rehabilitation and vocational training for the beggars and destitute a number of them we found we huge amount of money.
“In particular, there is a lady (beggar) we arrested with N675,000 cash, some of the naira notes that were kept for long are looking very dirty. I have the video record kept as an evidence.
“Similarly, two years ago, I got a report from Deidei junction that one of the beggars died and more than N1 million cash was discovered on his body and nobody knew where he comes from.
“And by the time I reached the place he was already buried. The question then is, who will inherit that money?”
The director, who said that beggars are parasites and burden to the society, reiterated the determination of the SDS to change such minds set so they can be become useful to themselves and the society.
He promised that the FCTA would intensify efforts to subject the arrested beggars to attitudinal change to make them understand that having losing hope doesn’t help an individual and the society.
Earlier, the Director, Finance and Administration, of the Abuja National Mosque, Haliru Shu’aibu, said Islam doesn’t support begging and assured total support of the management of the mosque to the eradication of beggars in the territory.
