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A total of 158 beggars have been evacuated from the streets of Ilorin by the Kwara State Government and returned back to their home states in the last one year.
The state’s commissioner for Social Development, Mrs Afolashade Opeyemi disclosed this on Monday during a ministerial press briefing coordinated by the Ministry of Communications in Ilorin, the state capital.
Mrs Opeyemi said the evacuated beggars mostly from Bauchi, Kano and other northern states had constituted social menace in Ilorin and its environs.
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“We have evacuated 158 young beggars from the streets. A total of 88 beggars were raided the first time while another 70 were later added. They have since been repatriated to their states,” Opeyemi said.
Opeyemi added that dangerous arms like guns, daggers, charms and other dangerous weapons were found in the possession of the evacuated beggars.
She wondered what beggars could be doing with charms and guns, adding that, “Our discovery is a confirmation that criminals keep their guns and other weapons with the beggars.”
The Commissioner disclosed that the state government also treated and repatriated five mentally challenged residents within the year under review.
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She also revealed that five lunatics threatening the peace of the metropolis have been treated by the state government at the psychiatric home in the Olorunda area of the state.
The commissioner said the mentally challenged persons have been discharged after due certification of mental stability.
“They have been sent back to Akwa-Ibom and Cross River where they came from,” she said.