Following the ban on street begging and the use of children to solicit for alms in Lagos, a Magistrate court sitting in Yaba, has convicted and sentenced a female beggar to two months imprisonment for using babies to beg within the state metropolis.
This was revealed by Olusegun Dawodu, the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development in the state, who held that the prosecution of the offender was in fulfillment of the 2015 Child Rights Law enacted by the state Assembly.
Dawodu said the woman who has been in the habit of using different babies for alms begging, was arrested in the Herbert Macaulay area of Ebute-Metta.
The Commissioner revealed that the case was brought before Yaba Magistrate Court 5, where she was sentenced to two months imprisonment without the option of a fine, while the children would be taken to the Juvenile Welfare Centre for two months of placement through the Ministry of Youth and Social Development.
Dawodu frowned at the increasing use of babies and children to beg for alms in various parts of the state, saying that the “act is not only an indication of child abuse but a clear violation of fundamental rights of our children as enshrined in Lagos State Child Rights Law 2015 which the State Government will continue to implement to the letter.”
