The Social Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has organised a training for its staff on evacuation of street beggars and sex workers in the city.
The secretary, Alhaji Oladimeji Ali Hassan, while declaring the workshop open, said the training was to enable the selected staff to improve on handling beggars and commercial sex workers roaming some streets in Abuja.
He added that the train-the-trainer workshop was aimed at reducing human right abuses in the handling of destitutes, sex workers, hawkers and beggars constituting nuisance in the territory.
Hassan, who was represented by the secretariat’s director of Administration and Finance, Alhaji Umar Marafa, disclosed that the secretariat deemed it necessary to bring together all the security agents and workers involved in curtailing the menace.
“There are mistakes made in the apprehension and evacuation procedures, so whatever standard we are employing must be in line with the established fundamental human right policies,” he said.
Speaking earlier, the director of Social Welfare of the secretariat, Felicia Nwogwu, said the capacity building was conceived as a result of experiences on the field in apprehending hawkers, beggars and commercial sex workers.
She described the menace as a vicious circle, stressing that the perpetrators have remained unfazed despite consistent sensitisation on the dangers of engaging in such unwholesome activities.
