Street beggars and street urchins in Lagos may soon face tougher sanctions, including fines of up to N200,000 and imprisonment of up to two years, if a bill before the Lagos State House of Assembly is passed into law.
The proposed legislation, however, combines the planned crackdown with rehabilitation and welfare programmes aimed at addressing the social and economic conditions that drive people, particularly children and vulnerable youths, to the streets.
The bill, titled the Street Begging and Street Urchins (Prohibition, Prevention and Rehabilitation) Law of Lagos State 2026, was presented to legal practitioners, civil society organisations and members of the public at a public hearing held on Tuesday at the Lateef Jakande Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja.
The public hearing, chaired by the chairman of the House Committee on Youth, Sports and Social Development, Abiodun Orekoya, is part of the legislative process before the bill proceeds to further consideration by the House.
The proposed law seeks to prohibit street begging and activities associated with street urchins in public places, including motor parks, traffic intersections, pedestrian bridges and open markets.
Orekoya said the legislation was designed to promote public order, safety and environmental sanitation, while also strengthening child protection measures.
Under the proposed law, activities such as loitering, sleeping, assembling or erecting temporary structures for the purpose of begging would constitute offences.
People who engage in, procure, aid or abet begging would also be liable to prosecution.
The bill specifically targets parents and guardians who send children onto the streets to solicit alms, with such actions potentially attracting prosecution under the proposed law and existing child-rights legislation.
The proposed sanctions are structured in three stages.
A first-time offender may receive a formal warning and be referred to a state-run rehabilitation centre. A subsequent violation could attract a fine of up to N200,000, a non-custodial sentence of not more than three months, or both.
For more serious or repeated offences, the bill proposes imprisonment of up to two years upon conviction by a Lagos State High Court or Magistrate Court.
The legislation also proposes giving the Environmental Sanitation Corps Agency broad enforcement powers, including the arrest of suspected offenders without a warrant and the seizure of property connected to the alleged offence.
Enforcement officers would be required to profile those arrested before transferring them to the Nigeria Police Force or appropriate local neighbourhood security units.
However, the proposed enforcement powers have raised concerns among some participants at the hearing, particularly over the possibility of arbitrary arrests and the treatment of vulnerable people during enforcement operations.
The bill attempts to address such concerns by expressly prohibiting enforcement officers from subjecting detainees to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, or unlawful detention, in line with the fundamental rights provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.
Beyond enforcement, the proposed legislation places emphasis on rehabilitation.
It mandates the Ministry of Youth and Social Development to establish dedicated Rehabilitation and Welfare Centres where people removed from the streets would receive temporary accommodation, basic literacy education, psychological counselling and vocational and life-skills training.
The stated objective is to help beneficiaries acquire skills and support needed for eventual reintegration into society rather than simply removing them from public spaces.
At the public hearing, however, human rights advocates and legal scholars urged caution, particularly regarding warrantless arrests and the broad enforcement powers proposed under the bill.
They also raised questions about how the legislation would balance the need to regulate public spaces with the rights and dignity of people living in vulnerable circumstances.
Deputy Speaker of the House, Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, said the views gathered from members of the public and stakeholders would be considered before the bill is finalised.
She said the feedback would help shape the legislation before it proceeds to third reading and, if passed by the Assembly, is presented to the Lagos State Governor for assent.
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