BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – A notorious beggar, Hadiza Ibrahim recently caught with huge cash amounting to N500,000 and $100 in Abuja has been cleared of any wrongdoing by officials of the Social Development Secretariat (SDS) in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
In its preliminary investigations, the SDS said Hadiza is not linked to drug peddlers, kidnap groups, arms dealers, and other organized criminal syndicates within or outside the nation’s capital.
According to the SDS officials, Hadiza, arrested a few days ago at a junction along the Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, in Wuse 2 District of Abuja, racked up the said amount from her N2,000 daily contribution.
Reports of her profiling indicated that Hadiza had been severally apprehended in the past 10 years by city officials for begging in designated places and Acting Director, Social Welfare Services of the SDS, Malam Sani Amar, said it has been clearly established that she was not into any nefarious activities.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Malam Amar explained that as part of the Secretariat’s profiling, the Police personnel attached to its enforcement team were given time to play their role, adding; “Within our little knowledge and experience in discharging our duty, with the assistance of security personnel attached to us, we understand that Hadiza was not into any criminal activity and if you look at the money found in her possession, it was accumulated over time.”
On Hadiza’s profiling, Amar said; “We did on her, we gave the Police in our team time to play their role and they did what they could and it was clearly established that she was not into such nefarious acts.
“She was so wise to have selected the areas of her own begging business, where she realises huge money daily”.
Also, the Acting Director said that Hadiza, who hails from Zaria in Kaduna State, is one of the die-hard beggars who had been severally apprehended by the Secretariat’s task force from the streets in highbrow areas of the territory.
He urged members of the public to stop encouraging beggars by giving alms to them on the streets, noting that such action has continued to aid them in carrying on with the illegal business, thereby constituting an environmental nuisance in the territory.
Malam Amar told journalists; “You can imagine somebody dishing out one hundred dollars as alms to a beggar, not knowing that such person has more than that amount with him or her. Won’t the beggar return to the same location?
“We have established colonies and settlements of real people who are in dire need of such support either cash or kind. So, I want to solicit that anybody who wishes to give such alms or support, should please carry out such to such people in dire need or you can go directly and give them.
“Civil servants, private business operators, and what have you, if you want to give alms or assistance of any kind, look around you, there are people in dire need of help, reach out to them, you will be blessed.”
However, responding to questions from journalists, the beggar said prior to her taking to street begging more than a decade ago, she was into clothes trading, but was forced to abandon the business due to the increasing rate of bad debts.
Hadiza said the huge amount accumulated through her savings from the N2,000,00 daily contribution she made while begging on the streets.
