Influx of underage children begging for alms worry Sokoto residents

Too many underage children who moving about begging for alms in Sokoto has become a source of concern to most residents in the metropolis.

These underage children, are mostly from the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs flocking around with plates in hands begging to feed and survive constitutes nuisance all over the place as their numbers have become unbearable to residents.

The rise in banditry activities in the North west, especially in remote villages and communities led to the rise in street begging in Sokoto as the children with their parents have to relocate to Sokoto urban for fear of attack by the bandits and other criminal elements.

Recall that the rise in banditry and other forms of insecurity ravaging the Eastern Senatorial district of the state has caused most of the residents of the area to leave their communities for fear of being attacked by gunmen.

CAPITAL POST recall that Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi States have been the hotbed of terrorists attacks among the North West States with heavy human casualties.

It was observed that the children, including boys and girls, were mostly seeing on the streets like Emir Yahya, Bello Way, Sahara, Manna, and Aliyu Jodi, among others.

When contacted, one of the victims, Abdullahi, a three-year-old boy accompanied by his six-year-old elder brother, Ibrahim, said their mother who was together with them at the Camp asked them to go look for food.

Abdullahi said their father had relocated to Gusau, leaving the children in the care of their mother who was also surviving on alms and gifts from the society.