Physically Challenged, Destitute Hold Gov Ambode Hostage over ‘Inhuman Treatment’

There was pandemonium at the Lagos State Government House on Friday as over 1000 Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWDs), mainly destitute across the 57 Local Government Areas of Lagos state, recently shut Governor Akinwunmi Ambode out of office for several hours.

This follows the ban on street begging and hawking on the highways of Lagos in which offenders are liable to punishment under the law, Vanguard writes.

The protesters, under the umbrella of Physically Challenged Empowerment Initiative, PCEI, were marching against what they called unlawful arrest, detention and “inhuman treatment” of their members in the state.

Storming the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, the protesters blocked the entrances leading to the Governor’s office and complex of the state House of Assembly, preventing both staff and visitors from going or coming out.

Undeterred by the heavy presence of heavily armed policemen of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, the destitute claimed they are bonafide Nigerian citizens who should be accorded their rights.

A visually impaired man who begs on the streets of Lagos, Adamu, said he was a graduate of Lagos State Skill Acquisition programme but was forced into begging owing to lack of employment or financial support.

“That is why I am begging on the streets but government has sent officials after us to lock us up and maltreat us without any justification”, he said.

The protest peaked when Governor Ambode was returning from an official duty and was prevented from gaining entrance to his office until he addressed them.

It took a top delegation from the governor who conveyed Ambode’s message with an assurance that their demands would be looked into within three days for the protesters to disperse, promising to return on the expiration of three days if their prayers were not answered.

Meanwhile, the Coordinator, PCEI, Mohammed Zanna, accused officials from the state’s Ministry of Youth and Social Development, MYSD, of what he called “arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention for months without trial in terrible conditions leading to health problems and even death.”