- I make about N1,000 daily, do contributory savings – Suspect
The ageless saying that everyday is for the thief, but one day is for the owner of the stolen items was underscored recently when a fake blind beggar, Chinyere Onuara, was arrested while plying her undignified trade in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Onuara, our correspondent gathered, had been deceiving unsuspecting and sympathetic residents of the city for weeks and fleecing them of their hard-earned money until recently, when she met her waterloo in the hands of the officials of the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
The ministry officials, who had initially approached the “blind woman” with the intention of assisting in giving her some succour, apprehended the suspect along with her four-year-old son.
As the officials moved towards her, however, 30-year-old Onuara, who thought that her game was up, immediately lost courage and betrayed her fake blind beggar’s poise, giving the ministry workers, who were taken aback, a jolt!
She made to run, but the ministry workers grabbed and pinned her down in a bid to over-power her and prevent her from bolting away from scene. After Onuara put up a feeble resistance, the ministry workers succeeded in apprehending her.
It was learnt that the suspect, who claimed to be a widow and a mother-of-five, left her hometown in Ebonyi for Akure to act as a guide and assist a blind friend in collecting alms. But when the deal with her friend did not sail through, after arriving in the Ondo State capital, Onuara decided to assume the role of a blind beggar with her four-year-old son serving as her guide.
She also chose a “very lucrative” location, the frontage of the premises of a commercial bank, where she made at least N1,000 everyday and even began to save some of the money for the rainy day.
Speaking to our correspondent, the ministry’s Director of Social Welfare, Mr. Sola Aladesuyi, said the suspect drew the attention of the officials, who were on inspection of some facilities around the state capital.
Aladesuyi said that as he and his team approached the suspect in an effort to provide her aid, they were shocked to discover that she was not actually blind.
He added that the suspect was arrested immediately and taken to a correctional facility in the state capital.
The ministry official added, “It was the sight of a blind young woman and a young boy that attracted the attention of the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Omowumi Olatunji Edet, who directed officials of the ministry to rescue her and provide help.
“But on getting to the suspect in order to provide her some assistance, we were, however, shocked to find out that she was not blind. We immediately arrested her and took her into custody at a correctional home here in Akure.”
Narrating how the suspect came to the state, Aladesuyi said, “Chinyere claimed to have left Ebonyi for Akure a few weeks ago to assist a blind friend to collect alms, but the deal did not sail through.
“She said on getting to Akure, her blind friend opted for another person, which made her decide to disguise as a blind beggar in front of a commercial bank in Akure, where she makes at least N1,000 collecting alms from unsuspecting members of the public, from which she makes daily savings.”
The suspect expressed regret over her action, saying she did that “to raise money to start a trade, being a widow with five kids in a village in Ebonyi. She claimed that her husband died recently after he was allegedly poisoned.
She, however, appealed to the state government to empower her, rather than punish her.
Onuara lamented that she had been homeless, adding that she had been passing the night in a public facility along Ondo road in Akure with others engaged in the business of begging in the
state.
On getting to the suspect in order provide her some assistance, we were, however, shocked to find out that she was not blind! We immediately arrested her and took her into custody at a correctional home here in Akure
Aladesuyi, however, described the act of begging with a minor as worrisome and against the state’s Child Rights Law, which the government would not tolerate under any guise.
He said the ministry would contact the Ebonyi State Government to verify Chinyere’s claims in order to be sure that she was not a security risk to the state, before sending her back home.
He added that the ministry was poised to rid the state of beggars.
In her reaction, a Lagos-based social worker, Ms. Ngozi Okoro, said such an act was not acceptable as it was capable of inducing crime and other social
vices.
She added that the state should investigate the suspect to unravel her real identity.
Okoro said, “The Ondo State Government, particularly the ministry, should investigate the woman because she might have more hidden identity and
personality.
“People like that should not be trusted and they are capable of doing something that is even worse. I am more bitter with the fact that she was using her son to perpetrate this act. She must be punished to serve as deterrent to
others.”
