On Tuesday, February 26th, Beggars reportedly stormed the streets of Lagos to protest against continuous arrest by officials of the state government.
WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that the beggars stormed the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s office in 10 buses and seven tricycles and also barricaded the entrance to the State House of Assembly as they sought for audience with the Lagos State Governor.
The protesters stormed the streets with placards of different inscriptions such as “Enough is enough, stop the persecution of people with disabilities”; “Save the waterfront, enforced conviction, we demand justice”; If you don’t want to see us begging on the streets, give us skills and empowerment,”; “Seeing beggars all over our streets and roads is the failure of the system” and many more to express their grievances.
Speaking at the protest, the Spokesperson of the beggars and Coordinator of Physically Challenged Empowerment Initiatives (PCEI), Mohammed Zanna narrated how some of the beggars were arrested during a similar protest in 2017, taken to Majidun which he described as a prison.
Zanna alleged that the arrested beggars were maltreated and manhandled by government officials which led to death of some of their members.
Zanna further revealed that the recent ban on commerical motorcycle and tricycle which some of them strived so hard to buy, has made business difficult for them as they now have to trek from bus stops to their destinations.
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