Niger govt bans street begging

The Niger State Government on Thursday banned street begging in the state, saying violators would be prosecuted.

Speaking after the state executive council meeting held at the Government House in Minna today, the Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Idris, said following the ban of street begging in other northern states, Niger state was gradually becoming a dumping ground for beggars which would affect the security infrastructure in the state.

He noted that the ban will not affect the Almajiri system of education policy currently in place in the state.

Idris said the ban was also necessities by the fact that security challenges in the state are gradually increasing, noting that there is a need to address it.

“Government is putting up strong mechanisms to ensure the enforcement of the street begging ban. Mobile courts will be set up to try violators. Adults would be prosecuted while the children will be taken to their parents who will be prosecuted whether they are in the state or not.

“We are not banning the Almajiri system, we are only saying that we will not tolerate the Almajiris to beg; the ban would formalize the Almajiri system in the state,” he added.

Similarly, he disclosed that the council has approved the domestication of criminal code law in the state as agreed on by the attorney generals of the 19 northern states.

“It is a modification on the penal code law. Northern states agreed to have a new penal code law. It is an improvement on the old law because it takes care of modern criminal matters like terrorism, kidnapping that have not been captured in the old law because they are new to our environment,” he explained.