Beggars, street urchins convicted for violating social devt laws in Kwara

By Muyideen Aliyu, llorin 

As part of measures to beef up security in the state capital, the Kwara State Government had commenced the arrest, prosecution and conviction of beggars and street urchins in Ilorin metropolis through a Mobile Court situated at the Ministry of Social Development Headquarters, Ilorin.

The Commissioner for Social Development, Hajia Mariam Nnafatima Imam, PhD,  recently led the Ministry's enforcement team in evacuating  the beggars and street urchins across the streets such as Post-Office, Taiwo Road, Asa-Dam Road, Gerin-Alimi and Tanke, in Ilorin metropolis, said that those  arrested included children, women and men.

 Imam said that they were caught indulging in begging at different locations in Ilorin metropolis where they were prohibited, adding that the beggars and street urchins were charged to Mobile Court at the Ministry where a Senior Magistrate, Jumoke Bello, delivered judgement and convicted them accordingly.

She reiterated  the government commitment towards evacuating the beggars and street urchins and the  proliferation, threats  to security in the state capital, explaining that the state government had to go tough and applied decisive punishments on them .

The commissioner explained that owing to their persistent proliferations in spite of numerous sensitisation campaigns and warnings undertaken by the state government through various platforms of communications and different measures put in place at various locations for their rehabilitation.

She stressed that the evacuation would be a continuous exercise and noted that the state government would not hesitate to wield its long sticks on offenders, advising them to heed government's warning.

Earlier ,the Presiding Magistrate, Jumoke Bello, sentenced the offenders in line with the provisions of the Kwara State Social Development Laws and  were given community service punishments.