A 56-year-old beggar, Kehinde Olatunbosun, who was arrested by a Rapid Response Squad team of the Lagos State Police Command has disclosed the staggering amount he made while begging in the state capital, Ikeja.
Olatunbosun, a native of Ibadan, Oyo State, was last Friday arrested alongside 18 others at an illicit drug joint in the Ipodo area of Ikeja, where the police team had traced a suspected phone thief to.
Narrating how he got arrested, Olatunbosun told the Vanguard:
“Every day, I make over N10,000 doing corporate begging. All days of the week, I am always in Mobolaji Bank Anthony Roundabout, Toyin Street Roundabout and Opebi (All in Ikeja).
“At times, I collaborate with other beggars. Whatever we make, we share. But I get a larger share.
“What I do is that I get LASUTH (Lagos State University Teaching Hospital) drug prescription papers from their waste bin. With this in my hand, I convince motorists, passengers and passers-by that I have a relative who is in need of money to buy drugs and I show them the prescription papers.
“This is what I have been doing since I was deported from Germany in 2004. Before the deportation, I was working as Electrical Engineer in Bauhusa, Cologne, Germany. I was in Germany for 12 years before I was deported.
“I was in possession of drugs when I was arrested in Germany, so they deported me. I have four children. Two are in Germany with my wife. One is in Texas in the United States and another in Nigeria. Unfortunately, all the money I make from this begging goes into drugs.
“I am always there, seven days a week. I make more money on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. I make more than N10,000 on weekends.
“As I speak with you, I am not on drugs, but I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms. That is the effect of not taking drugs for some time. I was at Ipodo drug joint, Ikeja, when I was arrested. I was on drugs.
“I have never been arrested for any offence before. I am praying that RRS releases me. I promise I will not go back to drugs again. Where I live presently was given to me by my in-law.”