A woman, Mrs. Adiza Umoru, was arrested for using rented twins to beg on the streets of Lagos. Umoru’s arrest came barely a week after three women were arrested by the officials of the state Ministry of Youth and Social Development for using rented babies to beg for alms.
This was as the Commissioner for Youth and social Development, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile Yussuf, yesterday urged the residents to stop giving alms to beggars especially those with babies, so as to discourage the begging.
Umoru, who was caught using twins for begging at Costain area of Lagos, claimed that her younger sister, Aminat, was the biological mother of the babies. However, according to the beggar, who hails from Niger State, she pays per time whenever she uses the twins to beg.
At press time, efforts were still on to locate the real biological mother of the babies. Sources in the ministry told New Telegraph that the biological mother of the twins might have fled her residence for fear of being arrested. Akinbile- Yussuf described Umoru’s arrest as a follow up to the zero tolerance of alms begging.
The commissioner said giving alms was a good gesture, but it should not be brought to the streets. She said: “It is an established law in Lagos State; Section 168 of Criminal Code of Lagos State 2015 amended prohibiting street begging. We don’t want anyone going on the street and be begging.
We have told people times without number that it is illegal to be begging on the streets of Lagos. If anyone wants to give, they should go to government resettlement centres.”
