The Mercy Helpline Initiative (MHI) has joined the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) in condemning the Lagos State Government’s planned relocation of beggars, while offering constructive alternatives rooted in rehabilitation and community development.
Executive Director, Mercy Helpline Initiative (MHI) Samuel Solomon
says the initiative cknowledges the government’s concern for public order and environmental sanitation. However, he expressed deep concerned that the planned forced relocation of hundreds of beggars, including 396 recently arrested, violates the constitutional rights of citizens as enshrined in Sections 41 and 42 of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantee every citizen the right to live and move freely anywhere without discrimination.
As an organization dedicated to “Giving Relevance to Life,” MHI believes that poverty and homelessness are not crimes. The Lagos policy merely shifts the problem of poverty across state borders rather than addressing its root causes, and risks turning fellow Nigerians into unwelcome outsiders in their own country.
MHI’s mandate directly addresses this crisis. Our core areas include fighting child abuse and retreating children from the streets, as well as inmate rehabilitation. Children exploited through street begging are victims, not offenders. They need protection, not punishment.
MHI calls on the Lagos State Government to adopt a rights-based, rehabilitative approach that includes: rescue and rehabilitation of children with shelter, education, and psychosocial support; voluntary relocation with informed consent; addressing root causes through poverty alleviation and livelihood programmes; inmate rehabilitation with counselling and skills training; and community-based partnerships with civil society.
We call on the Federal Government and National Human Rights Commission to develop a national rights-based framework for urban poverty and homelessness, ensuring one citizenship for all Nigerians.
MHI stands ready to partner with Lagos State Government, CHRICED, and all stakeholders to implement humane, sustainable solutions. Every life matters. Every person deserves relevance.
