NBA Backs Lagos Anti-Street Begging Bill, Demands Safeguards

The Lagos State branch of the Nigerian Bar Association has backed a proposed law to prohibit street begging and street urchins in the state, but urged the House of Assembly to strengthen its provisions and ensure enforcement does not criminalise poverty or violate the rights of vulnerable people.

The Chairman of the NBA Lagos Branch, Uchenna Akingbade, stated this at a public hearing on the proposed Street Begging and Street Urchins (Prohibition, Prevention and Rehabilitation) Bill 2026 at the Lagos State House of Assembly earlier this week.

The NBA said the legislation was necessary to address the use of children for begging, obstruction of public spaces and cases of violent or coercive solicitation, but called for clear safeguards around arrest, detention and rehabilitation.

Akingbade said the situation was particularly concerning along the Lekki-Epe corridor and called for urgent intervention, including the possibility of declaring a state of emergency in identified flashpoints.

He urged the lawmakers to remove ambiguity from the proposed offence of “loitering for the purpose of begging” and called for tougher penalties where people engaged in begging were found carrying dangerous weapons.

The NBA chairman also called for more rehabilitation centres, arguing that enforcement should be accompanied by measures to address the circumstances that leave vulnerable people on the streets.

The association stressed that children found begging should be treated as children in need of care and protection and handled separately from adult offenders under the Lagos State Child Rights Law.

It also called for stronger penalties against adults who exploit children for begging, alongside due process, court oversight and defined limits on detention and rehabilitation.

 

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The proposed law would establish a rehabilitation-centred enforcement regime. First-time offenders would be cautioned and taken to rehabilitation centres, while subsequent offences could attract a fine or imprisonment of up to three months. Serial offenders could face up to two years in prison.

The rehabilitation programme contemplated by the bill includes temporary care, vocational training, literacy programmes, psychological counselling, life-skills training and welfare support.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Youth, Sports and Social Development, Abiodun Orekoya, said the Assembly recognised that street begging was not merely a question of public order.

He said the issue had security, socio-economic, developmental and child-protection dimensions, insisting that the legislative response must be “firm and humane”.

Orekoya said vulnerable children found on the streets should be protected rather than merely punished, adding that the proposed framework was intended to provide for their care, education, rehabilitation and possible reintegration into their families and communities.

He also stressed that enforcement must respect the fundamental rights guaranteed under Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution, including protection against torture, inhuman or degrading treatment and unlawful detention.

Speaking on behalf of the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, White Cap Chief Gbolahan Oki said arrests had failed to deter some offenders because they expected to regain their freedom shortly after being detained.

“The culprits don’t see arrest as anything because they know the police nets are filled up and they know they will be out soon,” Oki said.

He proposed a rehabilitation model based on productive work, referring to the traditional Itekule concept under which offenders could be made to contribute through activities such as bread production.

“What can curb the menace is to be subjected to two years of hard work,” he said.

The proposed law has also drawn calls for differentiated treatment of people whose presence on the streets may be linked to mental health conditions.

The Executive Director of Elixir Trust Foundation, Emmanuel Ikule, urged the Assembly to provide for people begging with mental health challenges to be referred to appropriate psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities.

Ikule cited Pen Cinema and Ojodu-Berger as areas where, he alleged, some people had used knives at night to extort money from unsuspecting members of the public.

A counselling psychologist, Suliat Olaniran, also raised concerns about alleged cases in which dangerous weapons were used to compel people to give money at night.

The bill also seeks to prevent the exploitation of children by prohibiting parents, guardians and custodians from using or permitting children to engage in street begging or hawking.

Children apprehended under the proposed law would be dealt with under the Lagos State Child Rights Law and referred to child-welfare authorities.

The NBA, however, said the proposed law should target harmful conduct and exploitation rather than poverty, homelessness or disability.

It also called for the agency to be created under the legislation to have clearly defined responsibilities, adequate government funding, financial accountability and safeguards for the personal data of children and adults brought within the system.

The Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Mojisola Meranda, who represented the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, said the proposed law was not intended to deprive anyone of their rights and welcomed support from private organisations in tackling the problem.

The bill envisages collaboration among government agencies, the Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, traditional institutions, religious organisations, families, communities, schools, civil society groups and the private sector.

  

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