Some beggars and street urchins arrested and prosecuted for violating the state environmental laws have received community service as punishment from a mobile court in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The presiding magistrate, Jumoke Bello, sentenced the offenders to community service in line with the provisions of the Kwara State Social Development Laws.
The Mobile Court is situated within the premises of the Kwara State Ministry of Social Development, Ilorin.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the beggars and the street urchins were arrested at different locations in Ilorin metropolis by officials of the ministry.
A government source told LEADERSHIP that the evacuation of beggars and street urchins from the streets of Ilorin was part of strategies to beef up security in the state capital.
The Commissioner for Social Development, Dr Mariam Imam, led the ministry’s enforcement team in evacuating the beggars and street urchins across the streets, such as Post Office area, Taiwo Road, Asa-Dam, Gerin-Alimi and Tanke, all in Ilorin.
Imam, who disclosed that those arrested included children, women and men, confirmed that the offenders were caught indulging in begging for alms at different locations in Ilorin metropolis, adding that they were duly tried and convicted.
She said that the evacuation of the beggars and street urchins became necessary because of the threat they posed to security in the state capital.
“The state government had to go tough and apply decisive punishment on them (beggars) owing to their persistent proliferation in spite of various sensitisation campaigns and warnings undertaken by the state government through various platforms of communication,” she said.
Imam warned that the evacuation of the beggars would be a continuous exercise.
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