Lagos Prosecutes 459 Beggars, Rescues 1,315 Vulnerable Persons
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The Lagos State Government has rescued 1,315 vulnerable persons from streets across the state and prosecuted 459 beggars through the Mobile Court as part of intensified efforts to tackle street begging, homelessness, mental health challenges, and public disorder.
The Lagos State Government has rescued 1,315 vulnerable persons from streets across the state and prosecuted 459 beggars through the Mobile Court as part of intensified efforts to tackle street begging, homelessness, mental health challenges, and public disorder.
Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mobolaji Ogunlende, disclosed this during the 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing held to commemorate the third year of the second term of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Ogunlende said the rescue operations formed part of the state government’s broader rehabilitation and reintegration strategy aimed at restoring dignity to vulnerable persons while addressing growing social and environmental concerns across Lagos.
According to him, those rescued included 587 beggars, 560 mentally challenged persons, 143 destitute persons, and 25 street children removed from major roads and public spaces within the review period.
The commissioner explained that the rescued persons were transferred to government rehabilitation facilities where they received medical attention, psychosocial support, counselling, vocational training, and rehabilitation services.
He disclosed that 459 beggars were prosecuted through the Mobile Court and sentenced to community service with an option of fine as part of measures to discourage street begging and restore orderliness in the metropolis.
“The State Government remains committed to restoring dignity to vulnerable persons through rehabilitation, counselling, vocational empowerment, and reintegration into society,” Ogunlende said.
He noted that the Rehabilitation Department, which oversees the operations, continued to deploy a multi-disciplinary approach involving psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, and social workers in handling rescued persons across rehabilitation centres in the state.
Ogunlende further revealed that the Rehabilitation Training Centre currently accommodates 1,295 rehabilitees undergoing therapy and rehabilitation programmes, while 1,072 persons were admitted during the reporting period.
According to him, 998 rehabilitees, including some foreign nationals, were successfully reunited with their families after rehabilitation and placed under follow-up monitoring by the ministry’s Human Integration Unit.
The commissioner added that some rehabilitees had also been empowered through vocational programmes in tailoring, horticulture, barbing, phone repairs, and other trades to facilitate economic reintegration.
Ogunlende said the government also intensified efforts against drug and substance abuse through the Lagos State Kick Against Drug Abuse initiative, which collaborated with schools, communities, NGOs, and security agencies on advocacy and sensitisation campaigns across the state.
He stressed that the Sanwo-Olu administration would continue to strengthen rehabilitation, rescue, and reintegration programmes to reduce homelessness, street begging, and social disorder while protecting vulnerable residents across Lagos State.
The commissioner also said the State Government has intensified efforts to combat child abuse, trafficking, neglect, and abandonment, recording 1,437 child protection cases and carrying out over 5,708 interventions across the state within the review period.
Ogunlende said the interventions formed part of the state government’s determination to strengthen child protection systems and safeguard vulnerable children from abuse, exploitation, violence, and neglect.
According to him, the Child Protection Unit handled 1,437 reported child protection cases involving abuse, trafficking, abandonment, neglect, and other welfare concerns across Lagos State during the reporting period.
He disclosed that the unit rendered more than 5,708 child protection services, including rescue operations, investigations, legal interventions, counselling, rehabilitation, placement services, and psychosocial support for affected children and families.
“A total of 520 cases were successfully concluded through various disposition pathways, reflecting the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring meaningful outcomes and protection for vulnerable children,” Ogunlende stated.
The commissioner highlighted several high-profile rescue operations undertaken by the ministry following viral social media reports of child abuse and neglect.
He recalled that the ministry, in collaboration with the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency and the Nigeria Police Force, rescued two children after a viral video surfaced showing their mother physically abusing one of them with wires, knives, and other objects.
According to him, the children were immediately removed from the abusive environment and placed in an approved home for care and protection, while the mother was arrested, arraigned before a court, and remanded.
Ogunlende also disclosed that another three-year-old child was rescued after a disturbing viral video showed the child drinking dirty water in a severely neglected condition.
“The child was traced, rescued, taken for medical treatment, and later placed in an approved orphanage, while the grandmother involved in the abuse was arrested and arraigned before the court,” he said.
The commissioner further revealed that two male children locked indoors for over two months by their father and stepmother without adequate feeding or access to education were rescued after a whistleblower alerted the ministry.
He added that the children were placed in protective care while social investigations continued to identify suitable family members for reintegration.
Ogunlende said the ministry also rescued a child with special needs allegedly exploited online by a social media influencer to solicit funds from members of the public.
According to him, the child was transferred to a specialised care facility where therapy and rehabilitation support were being provided.
The commissioner stressed that the Sanwo-Olu administration remained committed to protecting children’s rights through stronger collaboration with schools, healthcare institutions, family courts, security agencies, and community stakeholders.
He warned that the government would continue to take decisive legal action against parents, guardians, caregivers, and institutions found culpable in child abuse, trafficking, exploitation, or neglect across Lagos State.
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