…“Almajiri, out-of-school children tool for terrorists” – CISLAC
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), under Minister Nyesom Wike, has launched a sweeping operation to rid Abuja and its satellite towns of street beggars, scavengers, illegal traders, and other social nuisances.
The initiative, code-named: ‘Operation Sweep Abuja’, aims to improve security and environmental sanity in the nation’s capital.
According to a statement by the Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the operation will be carried out by a Joint Task Force of security agencies and relevant FCTA departments. Those apprehended will be profiled and returned to their home states.
Wike’s directive cites the Abuja Environmental Protection Act and related laws, stressing that Abuja must remain a secured symbol of national pride, not a haven for street begging or criminal syndicates disguised as scavengers or loiterers.
“In line with the Abuja Environmental Protection Act and other relevant laws, the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, has directed the immediate evacuation of miscreants, street beggars, traders, scavengers, and other criminal elements from the FCT. Security of lives and property of residents is of paramount importance. We must all join hands to achieve a safer Abuja”, the statement read.
However, as the crackdown intensifies, experts have raised concerns that Nigeria’s persistent challenge of Almajiri and out-of-school children could undermine such efforts if not addressed holistically.
At the official launch of the Strengthening Child Care and Protection Systems in Nigeria Project in Abuja on Tuesday, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, warned that the growing population of neglected children is increasingly exploited for terrorism, political violence, and crime.
Rafsanjani applauded initiatives by international partners like the EU Delegation to Nigeria and organisations like SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria and the Jireh Doo Foundation, but lamented that weak implementation of child protection laws and uncontrolled childbearing continue to worsen the situation.
“The growing population of children whose parents do not feel the sense of care is the major reason for the growing rate of crime, thuggery and terrorism in Nigeria today. The National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education, which was established to ensure every child has access to quality education, has not received the needed attention, hence the proliferation of Almajiri and out-of-school children who have become willing tools for recruitment by criminal elements”, Rafsanjani said.
He urged stakeholders and government at all levels to strengthen policy implementation, tackle severe acute malnutrition, and address child rights violations to break the cycle of poverty, insecurity, and exploitation.
