Rescued woman and her children

The Lagos State Government has urged members of the public to disregard social media messages soliciting financial support for a mother and her twin children rescued by officials of the State government during a monitoring exercise along LASU Road, Igando, Lagos.

Speaking at a Press Conference in Alausa, Ikeja, the State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mr. Agboola Dabiri described the people behind the solicitation, which had gone viral, as fraudsters whose aim is to scam kind-hearted Lagosians to enrich themselves.

He explained that following a report about the presence of a mentally challenged/destitute woman with six months old babies (twins) and three other children on the 19th of March, 2019, a team of Child Protection Unit from the Ministry took custody of the woman and her five children.

According to the Commissioner, the mother and children are presently in the custody of the State Government and are being given the deserved medical care and attention after their removal from the streets by the Unit.

“We discovered that the mother of these children was mentally unstable while the children looked malnourished as at the time they were taken into custody. The State government is working hard to stabilise them and subsequently re-integrate them into the society”, he noted.

Agboola, meanwhile, implored parents and guardians to be more watchful and vigilant of their children, in view of the high rate of reported cases of defilement and other forms of abuses against children in recent times.

“As it is now, there seems to be no safe place to keep our children again, even religious leaders can’t be trusted with our wards, let us be more vigilant and report immediately to the Ministry of Youth and Social Development on 09077333425 or 08172457792 for any case of defilement or abuse around you”, the Commissioner stated.

He also solicited for the support and cooperation of all parents, guardians and members of the society on the State Government’s efforts towards eradicating the menace of child defilement and abuse in the society, assuring that all information received will be treated with a high sense of confidentiality.