In Ibadan, Oyo state capital, corporate beggars and extortionists have apparently taken over from conventional street beggars thereby constituting nuisance to many reserved residential buildings and occupants, LegitNg reports.
The online medium reported that the incident is setting the corporate beggars on collision course with the traditional beggars who included the disabled and others because of conflicting approaches.
While the corporate beggars go from house to house mostly towards evening time from 4.00pm and dress neatly, the alms beggars operate on motor parks and streets but keep away from residential homes which make them preferable to members of the public.
According to the report, while the disabled ones and other type of beggars solicit alms ordinarily and do not reject any amount, the corporate beggars put a price tag on their victims.
Quoting an unconfirmed source, the platform said there is a training place for the corporate beggars at a location in the outskirts of the state capital.
An encounter between a woman who was returning home from the state secretariat and two ladies in this extortionist adventures who are in their mid twenties, nearly ended in an open conflict but for the intervention of an elderly passer bye.
The young civil servant queried the beggars while they were telling the same pathetic story given to her two days ago to extort money from innocent but sympathetic people and there was an altercation before an elderly man intervened.
Her threat to call in police to arrest the two “beggars” was shelved while the trouble shooters counselled the two “beggars” to think of an honest means of survival. The fake beggars who did not exclude young men, often go about telling stories of being robbed and desperately in need of financial assistance from N500 above to get back home or come up with an emotional story of their wives being rushed to hospitals for emergency treatment to save lives.
A police officer who pleaded anonymity told Legit.ng that their action was not criminal since they have not forced any one to give them money. Also a Divisional Police Officer in Ibadan said: “If you know they have taken money from you under false pretext, let us know and you show us such people for interrogation and subsequent prosecution.”
