40 beggars have been evacuated by Kwara State Government from the street of Ilorin, the state capital.
The evacuation of beggars was carried out by officials of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development in collaboration with operatives of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS), Kwara State Command.
During a search conducted on the beggars, a foreign currency (US dollar) was found on one of them, Musa Mahmuda.
Seven of the evacuees were second term offenders, having been arrested during a previous evacuation exercise but they returned to the streets again.
The operation was conducted at Tipper Garage in Tanke, Offa garage and Garin Alimi areas all in Ilorin metropolis.
The Commissioner for social Welfare and Development, Dr Mariam Imam, expressed delight that the exercise was yielding the desired results.
According to her the number of those evacuated from the streets in the latest exercise has “dratically reduced from 94 arrested during the last time to 40”.
Dr Mariam Imam said the ministry’s evacuation team was changing its “strategy as the beggars too were changing their tactics and locations to evade being evacuated from the streets.
She urged those patronising the beggars to stop doing so and channel their offerings through religious organisations, orphanages and places of worship, noting that street begging has been outlawed in the state.
Also speaking, head, Non-custodian Centre, Nigerian Correctional Services, Kwara State Command, Adebayo Okunola, said the appropriate punitive measures would be meted out to the arrested beggars to serve as deterrent to others.
ALI MUHAMMAD RABIU
