By Benjamin Omoike
Notorious beggar, Hadiza Ibrahim, who was recently arrested in Abuja, after she was caught with cash amounting to N500,000 and $100, has been cleared of wrongdoing by the officials of the Social Development
Secretariat, SDS, in the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA.
The officials clarified that the suspect has no link with any criminal activity.
While addressing reporters in Abuja, the Acting Director, Social Welfare Services of the SDS, Malam Sani Amar, said the huge cash was an accumulation of her N2,000 daily contribution, which she started long ago.
He said that preliminary investigations conducted by the SDS showed that Hadiza has no links with any organized criminal syndicates, as was earlier perceived by the general public.
While urging residents of the territory to discourage begging, the official noted that Hadiza, a native of Kaduna State, was able to make so much money because of the location she usually stays to beg.
Amar said, “Within our little knowledge and experience in discharging our duty, with the assistance of security personnel attached to us, we understand that Hadiza was not involved in any criminal activity and if you look at the money found in her possession, it was accumulated overtime.
On the profiling we did on her, we gave the police in our team, time to play their role and they did what they could and it was clearly established that she was not into such nefarious acts. She was so wise to have selected the areas of her own begging business, where she realizes huge money daily.”
