The Niger State government has repatriated 21 almajiris to Katsina State.
The Director-General of the State Child Rights Protection Agency, Mariam Kolo, stated that Niger was not a dumping ground while repatriating the almajiris who were intercepted on their way to Mokwa town on Thursday, following the ban on street begging in the state.
“Niger State will not be used as a dumping ground where children are brought from other states and dumped in the state,” Kolo said.
She revealed that the underage children were intercepted in Minna while being conveyed in a bus by one Malam Habibi Abdulrazaka.
“Three days ago, we were called upon that a bus was intercepted with 21 almajiris and were brought to our office. During our interaction with them, we found out that most of them were below the age of 17.
“And being that they were below such age and are all almajiris who have come here to learn and have not fulfilled the basic requirements to liaise with the Islamic association in the state, we have to return them back to their state of origin,” she said.
Abdulrazaka Habib, the teacher caught conveying the children, explained that the children were brought by their parents from Katsina State to him in Suleja to acquire Quranic knowledge.
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