Sixteen kids picked up during a street raid in Awka Anambra State Capital on Tuesday, have been handed over to the State’s Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra, OCHA Brigade for onward tracing of their parents and guardians.
The raid was conducted by the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, in collaboration with the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA), at the popular Aroma junction, Awka.
It followed reports of increased cases of child begging under the bridge, as well as other incidences of theft by the children, who are left to flood the entire area.
After the children were profiled, it was found that about 97 percent of them were from neighboring states, raising worries over the alleged dumping of children in the state for begging and petty stealing.
Addressing journalists after the operation, the State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs. Ify Obinabo, expressed deep concern that school-age children are being denied their right to education and instead exploited as beggars and petty thieves by unscrupulous individuals.
“This is happening despite Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s provision of free basic education in the state.
“This development has become a worrisome one for us as a government.
“It is also of great concern to us that most of these children are not from Anambra State.
“We have therefore decided that this will no longer continue. For these children we picked up, we are going to trace their parents and find out why they are being used for begging.
“It is also a warning to parents to endeavor to give birth to only the number of children they can take care of, to avoid deploying them for these nefarious activities,” Obinabo said.
On his part, the Managing Director of ACTDA, Mr. Ossy Onuko, explained that these beggars and other miscreants had repeatedly been warned, both through conventional and social media channels, to vacate the city, but they failed to comply.
He said, “Anambra Government is determined to identify and prosecute the parents, guardians, and syndicates behind the exploitation of these children.
“The raid is part of an ongoing effort to rid the area, which is a key governmental zone, as well as other parts of the Awka Capital Territory, of beggars and other miscreants.
“We cannot be talking of creating a liveable and prosperous homeland when we have all these people littering the place.
“If we fail to catch these children young now, they may grow up to become a menace to their parents using them for this venture now, and the society at large.
“That is why we are acting fast.”
