Your Threat Against Abuja Beggars Is Unlawful, Withdraw It Now – SERAP Tells Wike

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has threatened to drag the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to court if he carries on with his threat to evict beggars from Abuja.

SERAP, in a statement on Wednesday, argued that Wike’s threat to evict beggars from the streets of Abuja as from Monday is illegal.

The organization added that no one should be criminalized for engaging in life-sustaining economic activities because of their economic or social status.

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“Minister of the FCT Nyesom Wike must immediately withdraw his apparently unlawful threat to arrest beggars in Abuja, or face legal action. No one should be criminalized for engaging in life-sustaining economic activities or because of their economic or social status,” SERAP wrote.

Recall Wike had warned that beggars would no longer be allowed on the streets of Abuja.

The Minister lamented that the influx and activities of the beggars in Abuja have become an embarrassment to the city.

Wike added that some of the beggars are not real beggars but criminals pretending to be who they are not, thereby fuelling the insecurity in Abuja.

He, therefore, declared that from next week, city officials would begin to take out street beggars from Abuja and warned those who may have links with such beggars to take them off the streets before the security clampdown begins.

According to him, the grace period to take the beggars off the streets expires on Sunday, while they will begin flushing them off the streets as from Monday.

Recall that Wike made the declaration on Tuesday during the flag-off of the construction of an access road from Ring Road 1 by N16 to the Judges Quarters as well as the construction of internal roads within Judges Quarters in Katampe District.