The Lagos State Government has arrested 396 beggars and commenced profiling them ahead of their return to their respective home states.
The disclosure was made on Tuesday by the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, in a statement posted on his official X page. According to Wahab, the individuals were apprehended by operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) as part of the government’s sustained efforts to sanitise the state and curb illegal activities in public spaces.
He said those taken into custody would be profiled, provided with appropriate assistance where necessary, and handed over to relevant authorities to facilitate their safe return. “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 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.”
The commissioner added that the exercise forms part of the state’s broader commitment to maintaining public order, protecting the environment, and ensuring a cleaner, safer and more secure Lagos. He said the operation reflects the government’s continued approach of combining enforcement with support measures to address street begging and other activities considered detrimental to environmental sanitation and public order.
A video released alongside the statement showed dozens of those apprehended after the raid. The footage captured elderly men and women, middle-aged adults, and persons with disabilities, including some using crutches or wheelchairs and others with visibly deformed or amputated limbs, gathered under the supervision of officials.
Street begging remains a common sight across many parts of Lagos, particularly at major road intersections, traffic junctions and commercial districts. Children, some appearing to be between the ages of three and nine, are often seen moving from vehicle to vehicle appealing to motorists for money whenever traffic slows. In other locations, groups of beggars sit along busy roads, bridges and strategic junctions, while persons with disabilities position themselves on pedestrian bridges, road medians and other high-traffic areas to solicit alms. The prevalence of street begging has remained a recurring social issue in Lagos, especially in densely populated commercial corridors and transport hubs where heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic provides greater opportunities to seek donations.
The latest operation follows a pattern of similar enforcement exercises previously carried out by the state government. In 2013, under the administration of Babatunde Fashola, destitute persons and beggars were removed from the streets, profiled, rehabilitated where necessary, and arrangements were made for some to be reunited with their families or returned to their states of origin. That exercise attracted national attention after reports emerged that some of those assisted back to their home states were from Anambra. While the relocation later became the subject of public debate, the Lagos State Government maintained that it was in line with its longstanding policy of removing destitute persons from the streets, profiling them, and facilitating their reintegration with their families and communities where possible.
