By Remi Johnson
Over 200 street beggars and scavengers, including women and children, have been evacuated from the streets of Abuja, as the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), in renewed vigour, intensifies its enforcement of the “Operation Sweep Abuja Clean” initiative.
Giving the breakdown, the Acting Director of Social Welfare at the FCT Social Development Secretariat, Mrs. Gloria Onwuka, said those so far evacuated comprise 80 men, 58 women, and 72 children, and they have been taken to the FCTA Rehabilitation Centre in Bwari Area Council.
The “Operation Sweep Abuja Clean” initiative, which was launched during the week at the directive of FCT Minister Dr. Nyesom Wike, is saddled with the task of ridding the streets of miscreants, “one-chance” syndicates, scavengers, and street beggars infiltrating the FCT from other states of the federation.
The Acting Director, who expressed concern that people have turned begging into a business in Abuja, said those in custody would be profiled, after which they will be repatriated to their respective states. She added that the exercise is a continuous one aimed at making Abuja safer.
“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,” she said.
According to her, “They have taken it as a business. They now go and hire people from other states, put them in vehicles, and very early in the morning, they come into Abuja and start begging. By evening or at night, they disappear. Some children told us they jumped into Dangote trailers from as far as Katsina to come to Abuja.”
She questioned, “Tell me, how can a child of seven or eight years leave his home in Kano or Katsina and travel to Abuja without being aided by someone? Even a woman we caught claimed she had breast cancer, but when we loosen the bandage, there was no single wound.”
Onwuka added, “Most of the beggars even go to the extent of hiring other people’s children to beg on the roads. And there are families renting out these children.”
Speaking on security, the Secretary, Command and Control, FCTA, Dr. Peter Olumuji, who represented the Director of Security, said the influx of people under the guise of begging poses a significant security threat.
He stressed that the administration is determined to tackle all forms of criminality and nuisance, including the notorious “one-chance” syndicates.
“The security concerns posed by these nuisances in the FCT have become a source of great worry to residents. The Minister has directed the Commissioner of Police and all relevant agencies to ensure that the FCT is rid of all these threats,” Olumuji stated.
However, one of the persons arrested, Ojo Bimbo, a mother of two from Kogi State, claimed to have been wrongfully arrested, insisting that 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 was sitting. I told her I needed help,” she said.
Her defence became questionable when she accused a man named Lucky of exploiting her and her children.
“Help me ask Lucky, why would he use me and my children to beg and then call me a beggar?” Bimbo added.
Some FCT residents who spoke to Radio Nigeria–Kapital FM described the “Operation Sweep Abuja Clean” initiative as a step in the right direction, especially in light of the growing number of people engaging in street begging as a business.
