By Monsuru Olowoopejo
In spite of Lagos state Government’s effort to end
street begging, more beggars still troop into the
state daily. This compelled the government to
intensify its raid, leading to the evacuation of 260
beggars from the streets in the last 100 days.
This was contained in a document made available
by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy,
Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba at the 2,800 days celebration
of the Governor Babatunde Fashola’s
administration held in Agidingbi, Ikeja.
In 2013, the state faced fierce public outrage over
alleged forced expulsion of some Igbo indigenes
from its territory.
Last year, not minding the consequence of its
action, the government rescued 2, 217 beggars
from the streets in the state. And it returned 458
destitutes to other states of the federation through
their relations, who were residents in the state.
Vanguard gathered that the rescue operation was
carried out through the Office of the Special
Adviser to the Governor on Youths and Social
Development. Most of the affected people were
sent to rehabilitation centres.
The document said the office evacuated 260
beggars/destitute from the streets during the 100
days under review.”
It added that 22 destitutes rescued earlier from the
streets are currently undergoing training at the
rehabilitation centre, in Majidun, Ikorodu while five
children rescued from the streets have been sent to
schools after completing their rehabilitation
exercise. After treatment, the government offered
shelter to six students who were victims of sexual
abuse even as those who abused them undergo
prosecution.
The former Special Adviser to Governor on Youth &
Social Development, Dr. Enitan Badru earlier
disclosed that rescue of beggars from the streets
of Lagos is “a continuous exercise.”
….Courts sentence 483 offenders to community
service
Also in the document, the State Government said
no fewer than 483 offenders were sentenced to
various terms of community service across the 12
magisterial districts in the state in the last 100
days.
It added that N66.6 million was paid as death
benefits to families of civil servants who died in
active service.
The statement stated that this was part of the non-
custodial sentences introduced by the state
government to decongest the prisons, as enshrined
Administration of Criminal Justice Law, ACJL 2011.
It explained that through the community service,
which requires offenders to do some community
work, the state government has succeeded in de-
congesting the prison system without
compromising the justice administration system.
It added that other non-custodial sentences
included in the ACJL 2011 were probation and
restitution which were expected to ease prison
congestion and minimize the effect of
imprisonment on individuals and their families.
The government noted that free legal services were
provided for indigent residents of Lagos, saying
“10, 084 cases were treated free for Lagosians.”
Breakdown of the statistics revealed that “Citizens
Mediation Centre, CMC resolved 7, 766 cases for
Lagosians at no cost to the litigants. The Office of
Public Defender, OPD treated 1,426 cases and
undertook 11 rescue missions during the period
under review. Similarly, the Directorate for Citizen’s
Right treated 892 human rights cases free.
“Also, these three agencies facilitated the recovery
of N229.1 million debts and compensation for
residents of Lagos in different matters. While CMC
recovered N213.440 million, OPD; N11.062 million
and Directorate for Citizen’s Right assisted
Lagosians reclaim N4.6 million.
Source: Vanguard ng
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