The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has condemned the reported relocation of Nigerians described as beggars, mainly northerners, from Lagos State to their states of origin, describing the action as unconstitutional, discriminatory and capable of undermining national unity.
Grassroots Parrot reports that the organization was reacting to the announcement by the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, that 396 persons apprehended by the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps would be profiled, assisted where necessary and returned to their respective states.
In a statement signed on Monday by its Executive Director, Comrade Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, CHRICED said while state governments have the constitutional responsibility to maintain environmental sanitation and public order, such powers must not be exercised in a manner that violates the rights of Nigerian citizens.
“Poverty is not a crime. Homelessness is not an offence. Every Nigerian is a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, irrespective of economic status,” Zikirullahi said.
He argued that Sections 41 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution guarantee every Nigerian the right to move freely and reside in any part of the country without discrimination based on place of origin or ethnicity.
According to him, the reported relocation of vulnerable citizens, particularly northerners, raises serious constitutional and human rights concerns and mirrors practices that Nigeria has consistently condemned in other countries.
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“Environmental enforcement cannot be used as a pretext for internal deportation or discriminatory treatment of vulnerable citizens. Equal citizenship must be upheld in practice, not merely proclaimed in principle,” he stated.
Zikirullahi noted that the controversy was not new, recalling similar incidents in 2013 and 2014 when Lagos State relocated destitute persons to Anambra State.
He said such actions fail to address the root causes of poverty and homelessness.
“Relocating vulnerable citizens across state boundaries does not solve poverty; it merely shifts responsibility and risks fueling ethnic profiling, discrimination and inter-state tensions that undermine national unity,” he said.
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The CHRICED Executive Director called on the Lagos State Government to clarify whether those relocated freely consented to the exercise and whether verifiable records of informed consent exist.
He also urged the Federal Government, the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and civil society organisations to develop a national rights-based framework for addressing homelessness, street begging and urban poverty.
“Nigeria’s Constitution guarantees one citizenship and one nation. No Nigerian should ever be made to feel like a foreigner within the borders of the Federal Republic,” Zikirullahi added.