By Sarah NEGEDU
Over 200 street beggars, including women and children, have been arrested in the Federal Capital Territory, as the FCTA begins full enforcement of its citywide cleanup campaign code-named Operation Sweep Abuja Clean.
The campaign which was launched on Monday at the directive of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, is tasked with the responsibility of ridding the streets of beggars, scavengers, and other public nuisances.
Within the first few days of the exercise, officials confirmed the arrest of 80 men, 58 women, and 72 children, who were picked up from hotspots across Abuja and taken to the FCTA Rehabilitation Centre in Bwari.
Speaking at the centre on Thursday, the Acting Director of Social Welfare at the FCT Social Development Secretariat, Gloria Onwuka, who confirmed the figures said the exercise was a continuous one.
“The men out numbered the number of beggars. We have 80 men on ground here at the center, while the females are 58 and the children are 72 in number. So, that’s the number we are having for now and the exercise continues.
She said the operation was launched to address public safety concerns and stop the exploitation of children in street begging rings.
“Everyday we receive complaints about one thing or the other. We hear of one chance, kidnapping, all manner of crimes happening in the FCT. Knowing our minister who is an action man, he now wants to do away with all those things.
“People have turned begging into a business. They even go to the extent of hiring children from other states, even children that are not theirs. They drop them on the streets to beg. Some children told us they jumped into Dangote trailers from as far as Katsina to come to Abuja. Tell me how a child of seven years, eight years, will leave his house all the way from Kano or Katsina and start coming to Abuja if not being aided by some people?
She added that others feigned illness to attract sympathy and cash from passersby. “We caught one woman who said she had breast cancer. When the bandage was removed, there was no wound,” Onwuka said.
Onwuka further explained that the FCTA has profiled those arrested and is preparing to deport them to their home states. “We feed them, house them, and provide security, but very soon we will send them back. This is a continuous process, as long as they return to the streets, we will continue.”
On the security end, Dr. Peter Olumuji, Secretary Command and Control, FCTA, who spoke on behalf of the Director Security, said the operation is part of a coordinated effort to dismantle urban threats, including ‘one chance’ criminal syndicates.
“The Honourable Minister directed the Commissioner of Police and other agencies to rid the city of all security threats. That’s why you’re seeing this operation covering areas like Garki, Wuse, Kubwa, Asokoro, and Gwarinpa,” Olumuji said.
He disclosed that the Commissioner of Police chairs the joint task force and has ordered a “massive deployment” of officers to secure the Bwari centre and prevent any breaches. “We are very sure the security in place here is adequate for what we have,” he said.
However, one of the persons arrested claims to have been wrongfully arrested, insisting hers was a case of mistaken identity.
The suspect, Ojo Bimbo, a mother of two from Kogi State, defended herself, insisting she was not begging but merely seeking help.
“I sat down and they asked where I was going. I told them I was coming from ECOWAS, heading to Aguiyi Ironsi. A woman was jogging and asked me why I sat down. I told her I needed help,” she said.
Bimbo also accused a man named Lucky of exploiting her and her child. “Help me ask Lucky. Why will he use me and my children to beg and then call me a beggar? Why is he using my child to beg in someone else’s compound?” she asked.
Recall that the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka, while announcing the launch of Operation Sweep Abuja Clean said the FCT was not a site for street beggars and scavengers.
Olayinka in a statement on Wednesday said, “In line with the Abuja Environmental Protection Act, and other relevant laws, the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike has directed the immediate evacuation of miscreants, street beggars and traders, scavengers and other criminal elements from the FCT.
“In line with the Abuja Environmental Protection Act, and other relevant laws, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has directed the immediate evacuation of miscreants, street beggars and traders, scavengers and other criminal elements from the FCT.
“Our nation’s capital should be a secured symbol of pride and beauty, not a site for street beggars and scavengers, most of whom are agents of criminal elements.
“To achieve this, a Joint Task Force, comprising security agencies and relevant FCT SDAs have been deployed to apprehend any persons found begging, scavenging, loitering or engaging in other acts inimical to the well-being of the residents. Arrangements have been made to profile them and hand them over to their home state governments
“Security of lives and properties of residents of the FCT is of paramount importance to the government, we must all join hands to achieve a safer Abuja,” the statement reads in part.
