The Lagos State Government has said it will profile, provide necessary assistance to, and hand over the 396 beggars recently apprehended across the state to the relevant authorities for safe repatriation to their respective states as part of efforts to restore public order and improve environmental sanitation.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed this in a post on his X handle on Tuesday, saying the exercise formed part of the government’s sustained campaign to sanitise the state and curb illegal activities.
According to him, the individuals were apprehended by operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), popularly known as the KAI Corps, during enforcement operations across the state.
“A total of 396 beggars were apprehended by operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps as part of the Lagos State Government’s sustained efforts to sanitize the state and curb illegal activities,” Wahab stated.
The commissioner explained that the government’s approach goes beyond enforcement, noting that the affected persons would be properly profiled and provided with appropriate support before being reunited with their respective states through the relevant authorities.
“The apprehended individuals will be profiled, provided with appropriate assistance where necessary, and handed over to the relevant authorities to facilitate their safe return to their respective states,” he said.
Wahab added that the initiative reflects the state’s commitment to maintaining public order while ensuring that vulnerable persons are treated in a humane and orderly manner.
“This initiative reflects the government’s commitment to maintaining public order, protecting the environment, and ensuring a cleaner, safer, and more secure Lagos for all,” he added.
The latest exercise is part of the Lagos State Government’s sustained campaign to rid the metropolis of street begging, indiscriminate street trading, environmental infractions and other activities considered detrimental to public order and the state’s urban renewal agenda.
In recent years, the government has intensified enforcement through the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps, carrying out regular operations to remove beggars, suspected miscreants, illegal traders and occupants of unauthorised structures from highways, bridges, medians, road setbacks and other public spaces.
The state government has consistently maintained that while it remains committed to protecting vulnerable persons through appropriate social intervention programmes, public roads and other public spaces must not be turned into centres for indiscriminate begging, environmental degradation or activities capable of posing security and safety risks.
Officials have also reiterated that rescued destitute persons are profiled and, where necessary, rehabilitated and reunited with their families or repatriated to their states of origin through relevant government agencies, while enforcement against illegal street trading and other environmental violations continues as part of efforts to keep Lagos clean, orderly and safe for residents and businesses.
