Anambra State Government has arrested a middle-aged woman, Mrs. Uju Obiekwe for allegedly using persons with “fake ailment” to beg for alms.
Obiekwe was arrested with her accomplices at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University junction, Awka, where they used a young girl with a bandaged stomach to beg for alms from unsuspecting members of the public.
The widow, operating under a group called, “The Rescue Helpers People Foundation Incorporation” located in Oba, Idemili South council area of the state, confessed joining the group following the demise of her husband.
“I joined the syndicate after the death of my husband. They pay me N1,500 daily,” she said.
Parading the suspects in her office in Awka, Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Lady Ndidi Mezue reiterated the ministry’s readiness to rid the state of mentally challenged people and public.
She regretted that most of the beggars were from neighbouring states, warning that nobody had any reason to beg.
Mezue further revealed that her Ministry had empowered several persons in collaboration with the Caring Family Enhancement Initiative of the Wife of the Governor.
“We have trained people who are unemployed at the various Skill Acquisition Centres, after which they were empowered,” she added.
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