Woman Sentenced To Prison For Using Babies To Beg For Alms

A female beggar who used babies to beg for alms in the state capital was found guilty and given a two-month prison sentence without the option of a fine by the Lagos State Magistrate Court 5 in Yaba.

This was said in Lagos by the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Olusegun Dawodu, who also reiterated the city’s ban on street begging and the use of babies and young children as begging bowls.

He said that the prohibition remained in place and that anyone found in violation would be held accountable. Dawodu claims that the woman was detained in Ebute-Metta’s Herbert Macaulay neighborhood for having a practice of employing various infants to solicit charity.

He continued by saying that the Ministry of Youth and Social Development will transport the kids to the juvenile Welfare Center for a two-month placement.

In several sections of the state, newborns and young children are being used more frequently to beg for alms. According to Dawodu, this conduct is inappropriate for the state’s standing and will not be tolerated. He stated:

“This act is not only an indication of child abuse but it is a clear violation of fundamental rights of our children as enshrined in Lagos State Child Rights Law 2015 which the State Government will continue to implement to the letter.”

The situation seems hopeless despite the attempts of the former and present Lagos State authorities to discourage and get rid of the state’s increasing population of beggars on the streets.

The mendicants temporarily vanished once the state government finally got fed up with them and started to crack down on them, only to reemerge later when the heat was no longer as intense.

In addition to the fact that they seem to be everywhere in the city, many of them harass locals while pleading for charity, which some Lagosians find annoying.