Beggars storm LASG secretariat, Assembly

Beggars in Lagos State on Monday temporarily halted activities at the state secretariat, Alausa and the House of Assembly as they protested against alleged harassment by government officials and plan to bar them from operating in the state They also expressed their displeasure at the poor state of the government’s Rehabilitation Centre at Owutu, Ikorodu. The beggars, who were mainly of the northern extraction, carried placards and chanted solidarity songs. They blocked the main entrance to the secretariat, causing gridlock.

They later moved to the assembly where they prevented motorists from entering the complex.

Their spokesperson, Hassan Zakariwa, said the protest was to let the public know about their plight and how government officials had been arresting them.

He alleged that at many of their members were being detained at the rehabilitation centre under inhuman condition.

Zakariwa further alleged that some of the beggars, who could not withstand the inhuman treatments meted out to them at the camp, paid N45, 500 each before they were released.

He said, “The money is usually paid into government’s account at Zenith Bank. The place they called a rehabilitation centre was actually a prison yard.

“About 63 to 65 people are put in one room. We are telling the government to treat us as human beings and not animals.”

The beggars in a statement also accused the government of planning to bar them from street begging.

The statement signed by Zakariwa read in part, “First, our movement within Lagos State metropolis has been restricted; such that anyone caught roaming on the road will be taken to a prison in Ikorodu (Rehabilitation Centre). At the prison, belongings of those arrested will be seized and they will be maltreated by the management.

“Above all, it has come to our notice that very soon, anybody found giving alms to us will be apprehended and jailed for two years.

“We are handicapped, even the able bodied men, graduates cannot get jobs to do. We cannot survive without begging for alms. We don’t force people to give us alms but we cannot understand why the government is interested in banning alms begging in the state.”

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Major Tunde Panox (retd.) later addressed them.

He said their complaints and the allegations would be investigated.

“I assure you, these allegations would be tabled before the governor later today (Monday). Right now, the governor cannot meet you because the State Executive Council meeting is on and it won’t end until evening,” Panox said.

*Freedom of Speech, abi?