The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said that some families rent out their children to beggars and expect financial returns.
Gloria Onwuka, the Acting Director, Social Welfare, Social Department Secretariat expressed displeasure over such practices across the FCT.
Stating that begging has been transformed into a form of business in the FCT, Onwuka said there is an influx of child beggars who find their way to the territory by boarding trailers loaded with goods from the northern part of the country.
She disclosed this on Thursday after operatives of the FCTA apprehended some street beggars and miscreants in continuation of the Administration’s operation SWEEP Abuja Clean.
Onwuka narrated that children between the ages of 8-10 are also being trafficked into the territory to engage in the business of begging.
In a statement shared by Lere Olayinka, an aide to the FCT Minister, Onwuka said so far, 210 beggars have been picked up from various roads of the territory which include 80 men, 58 women and 72 children.
Highlighting the details of the exercise, Onwuka said that once apprehended, the beggars are taken to the FCT Vocational and Rehabilitation Centre in Bwari where they will be adequately accommodated, profiled and sent back to their various states of origin.
She noted that the facility is well equipped with all the necessities of life to ensure their comfort.
According to her, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike is worried by this ugly trend and has given the Social Development Secretariat a directive to ensure that the capital city is rid of beggars and criminals to ensure the safety of law-abiding residents.
