“What have we done?” a beggar, Ali Bappa, exclaimed in disbelief when The PUNCH correspondent informed him about the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike’s directive to arrest beggars in the nation’s capital.

Wike had during the flag-off ceremony for access road construction in the Katampe District on Tuesday threatened a crackdown on beggars.

Lamenting the increasing population of beggars in the FCT, the former Rivers State governor ordered law enforcement agents to start apprehending them from Monday.

“Let me state clearly that we have declared war; Abuja is turning into a beggar city. If you know you have a sister or brother who is a beggar, please, from next week, we will take them away. It is embarrassing that people will come in and the first things they will see are just beggars on the road,” Wike had said.

Not done, Wike accused some of them of being criminals, adding that they had till Sunday to find their way out of the nation’s capital.

Though unaware of the new order, Bappa wondered if any plan had been made to provide them with alternative means of livelihood, expressing concern over their uncertain future.

According to him, begging was never something he took pleasure in, adding that he hated the discrimination attached to being a beggar in the nation’s capital.

He said, “This situation I find myself in is not something I wanted. It can happen to anyone who is still alive. Some people see us coming and run away.

“In public vehicles, nobody wants to sit close to us. You see, there are people who think that just by interacting with me, they will become blind.”

At the moment, Bappa says he and his family rely on the kindness of strangers for survival. With the economy in such dire straits, he fears they may face starvation if no alternative comes their way.

“We depend on what I get from begging. With the current economy, where people are suffering and there’s no food, my family and I will have to stay at home and wait for death because there will be nothing to live on—no food,” he said.

Asked what else he could do if supported, he says he knits well, urging the government to empower beggars instead of locking them up.

“I can knit very well, forget that I am blind. The government should empower us instead of arresting and detaining us. We have many of us who are gifted.”

Unlike Bappa, Safiyanu Bako, another beggar, is aware of the order and plans to leave the nation’s capital for Kebbi, his home state, to continue his trade.

Bako, who has multiple disabilities, believes arresting beggars is far from the right solution, especially in the face of severe hardship he and his colleagues have been experiencing.

He said, “I came from Kebbi to look for a means of livelihood. I didn’t have anything to do, which is why I started begging. I heard the news on the radio yesterday. I don’t want any problems, so I’m going back to my hometown because if I stay here, there will be nothing for me to do.

“I have three children and a wife. Even if I return, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Many of us are willing to work but have no opportunity. If they say we shouldn’t beg anymore, there should be something else in place for us. I am not happy about begging.”

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Once thriving, Muhammed’s life took a devastating turn when bandits kidnapped him and his family.

Despite his visual impairment, the beggar, who was in the Maraba area of the FCT when The PUNCH visited, said he always worked hard within the bounds of the law to cater to his family.

But everything he built was lost—sold off to pay the ransom that secured their release from the hands of the bandits.

“I was a farmer, reared chickens and goats as well despite my condition. I was able to take care of my family before we were kidnapped by bandits three years ago. We spent a month with the bandits because we could not afford the amount they demanded. My people sold everything we had to get us out. I left Zamfara for Abuja to see if I could start my life afresh. But things aren’t as easy as I thought they would have been in Abuja,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government to restore peace in his state, expressing readiness to return to farming if his safety could be assured.

“I am ready to return to my state to start farming again, but it is not safe because bandits are still disturbing us. If insecurity is gone, many of us will go back to our farms. The government should help us restore peace in my state,” he added.

Begging as business

For some, begging has evolved into a profitable business rather than a necessity. This is particularly evident among individuals without any form of disability or visible hardship.

The PUNCH observes that these individuals often position themselves in strategic locations across the city, capitalising on the compassion of well-meaning citizens.

Residents of the FCT say this set of people deserves to be kicked out of the territory.

A resident of Lugbe in Abuja, Philip Anjorin, said those engaging in begging as a business should be prosecuted as well.

He said, “We have a lot of them here. You know, with Abuja being seen as a city for the rich, many of them come here to see how they can make it. They can succeed here if they are creative and hardworking, not by deceiving people into giving them money. Personally, I look carefully before giving anyone my money. Those who beg as a business should not only be kicked out but also prosecuted.”

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A resident of Kuje, Joshua Friday, shared a similar view. According to him, corporate begging should be considered a crime.

“It’s not just about individuals asking for help anymore; it’s becoming a business for some, exploiting people’s goodwill. We need stronger laws and stricter enforcement to address this growing issue in our society,” he added.

Wike’s predecessors and beggars

The clampdown that Wike ordered on beggars in the FCT isn’t a new phenomenon; similar efforts have been made in the past.

However, these measures often end in futility as beggars inevitably find their way back to the streets of the nation’s capital.

In May 2016, the immediate past FCT minister, Muhammad Bello, declared war on beggars and hawkers. In September of the same year, Bello banned begging in the FCT. While he was in office, over 200 beggars were arrested and returned to their states.

Under Dr Aliyu Umar, who was the FCT minister between 2007 and 2008, 395 beggars were returned to their states while 113 were prosecuted.

His predecessor, Nasiru El-Rufai, who served between 2003 and 2007, rid the city of beggars and repatriated a large number of them to their various states.

Similarly, under Bala Muhammad, there was a clampdown on beggars. In July 2014, 172 beggars were arrested.

Adamu Aliero, who was the minister between 2008 and 2010, also banned street begging and raised a 150-member corps to arrest offenders.

This suggests that Wike’s actions may meet the same fate without addressing the underlying issues driving people to beg, such as poverty and lack of opportunities.

Begging illegal?

States like Kano took proactive measures to address street begging by enacting laws aimed at curbing the practice in 2013.

In a similar vein, the Lagos State House of Assembly deliberated on the idea of introducing a law to curb street begging during a plenary session in 2023.

However, existing legal frameworks already made provisions against street begging in different parts of Nigeria. Under sections 249(b) and 250(1), (2), (3), and (6) of the Criminal Code, street begging is criminalised in the Southern region of the country. Likewise in the Northern region, Section 405 of the Penal Code also criminalises street begging, showing that both the northern and southern parts of Nigeria have legal grounds to combat the problem.

However, the National General Secretary, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Gerald Katchy, attributed the widespread prevalence of begging to the government’s failure to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities.

He further noted that taking a hardline approach against beggars alone would not solve the problem.

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Katchy said, “You are talking about a law prohibiting street begging. Is our government also abiding by the part in the constitution that it must ensure the welfare of citizens? Their failure has brought about hardship. You can’t have more hardship and not expect people not to resort to begging. It is like beating a child and telling him not to cry. That is the highest form of wickedness.

“The government should look at what they are doing that is making people to beg and not to go hard on people begging. It is not justifiable. People are begging because they have no job to do. Address that and you won’t see people begging. Establish them; create a market for them if you cannot employ them. ‘’

The Country Director of Amnesty International, Sanusi Isa, criticised the minister for criminalising poverty with his statements.

He said, “We believe that the minister should not try to criminalise poverty. That approach is very wrong, goes against the rule of law, and fails to recognise that society plays a role in creating people’s circumstances. Presenting them as a nuisance or as unwanted human beings is unfortunate, and it portrays the government as being unaware of how societies evolve.

“We call on the minister to retract his statements and instead focus on protecting all segments of society, including those he refers to as beggars. No one chooses to be a beggar; it’s not something prestigious that people aspire to. Many people are victims of years of corruption, bad policies, and the rampant misappropriation of public funds that deprived them of protection, leaving them vulnerable to such conditions.

“Rather than resorting to arrests, which solve nothing, the minister should consider establishing a social protection scheme for beggars. If these measures were in place, they wouldn’t be on the streets. What I expected from the minister was an announcement about initiating a social protection program, not arrests.”

Reacting to the criminalisation of begging by both the criminal and penal codes, Isa said, “There are many criminalised activities in the constitution that people engage in every day. Why are we more focused on what the poor are doing? The constitution mandates the government to protect its people. Is the government protecting them? Are people not paying ransoms every day in Nigeria? If we want to uphold the law, we should also work to eliminate the outdated laws from colonial times.”

On its part, the Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Project threatened to sue Wike if he makes good his threat of arresting beggars.

In a post on its official X handle, #SerapNigeria, on Wednesday, it stated that no one should be criminalised for their socio-economic status.

The group urged him to address the socio-economic rights of marginalised individuals in the FCT.

“The Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, must immediately withdraw his apparently unlawful threat to arrest beggars in Abuja or face legal action. No one should be criminalised for engaging in life-sustaining economic activities or because of their economic or social status.

“Mr Wike must address the plight of those experiencing homelessness and those living in poverty in Abuja and not demonise and criminalise them,” the post read.

Multiple calls to the Head of Media and Public Relations at the FCT Social Development Secretariat, Sunday Shaka, on Thursday went unanswered.

The unit, which oversees matters related to beggars, the poor, and the destitute in the FCT, was contacted to inquire about any potential plans to empower beggars in the nation’s capital. But no response was given.
PUNCH