Street begging: NSCDC commandant cautions IDPs in Jigawa

Street begging: NSCDC commandant cautions IDPs in Jigawa
By NAN on December 1, 2015 11:42 am

NSCDCMalam Muhammad Gidado, the Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Jigawa, has warned Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state against street begging.
Gidado gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Dutse.
He advised parents and guardians of the IDPs to stop sending their children and wards to the streets to beg because the practice posed a threat to their lives.
“The IDPs should refrain from using innocent kids as street beggars because the action is hazardous to their safety,” Gidado added.
The commandant said that such children were also exposed to social vices such as rape, defilement and falling victims of ritual killings.
Gidado said that the corps was dismayed at the presence of children aged between five and 15 begging for alms in the streets across the state.
“The NSCDC has observed the increase in the number of child beggars in the streets. The command sees the development as a potential threat to the safety of the children,” he said.
NAN reports that children, believed to be internally displaced, now roam the streets, market places and other locations in Dutse, the state capital, begging for alms.