FCTA Frees Abuja Street Beggar Found In Possession Of N500,000 and $100

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) acquitted a 48-year-old Abuja street beggar of any crime after he was arrested with N500,000 and $100 in cash.

On Thursday, February 17, the money she had earned from begging was returned to her.

Last week, the woman was arrested by the FCTA’s Social Development Secretariat (SDS) when she was discovered in possession of a large sum of money.

Ibrahim, a Kaduna State native, was described by Malam Sani Amar, the secretariat’s Director of Social Welfare Services, as “one of the die-hard beggars” who had been detained by the secretariat’s task force several times.

According to the director, the beggar accumulated money from begging over time without investing it.

“It was very fortunate that on Feb. 9, Ibrahim was apprehended among other beggars on Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent in Wuse II,” Amar said. 

“In all honesty, we never knew that she has such amount of money on her. What we normally do whenever we apprehend people we search them thoroughly to ensure that they do not carry any object that can harm them or our staff.

“Then, we profile them to know where they come from and what they are doing apart from begging.’’

According to the director, she appears to be socially twisted rather than cognitively deformed based on our judgment during the past decade of apprehending Ibrahim.

“She knows what she is doing, she can differentiate between right and wrong,’’ he said.

Amar described Ibrahim as “economical saboteur’’.

“There are many people looking for 10 per cent of what she has as capital to do a business that would sustain them without resorting to begging.

“But she is here with N500,000 plus 100 dollars notes which is N57,000 equivalent yet not investing it and still pretending to be poor beggar who has nothing to eat.

“So, in our own way as social councilors, we will subject her to psychosocial therapy because she has social deformity,’’ he said.

The woman would be put to a condition, according to Amar, that would make her realize that she is “physically fit, psychologically awake, and capable of doing certain things for herself without reverting to begging.”

“I used to come out daily from 4 p.m. to 11p.m. to beg for money around Wuse II and Maitama. Sometimes rich people around the area give me N5,000 or N10,000 and even dollars.

“If I get huge amount of money, I will travel to my hometown, Kwanan Danja in Zaria, Kaduna state and when the money is finished I will come back,”

“The day I was apprehended with the money, I came out with it to buy kitchen utensils for my daughter who will be getting married very soon.” 

Source; PressInformant