The Commissioner of Information and Communication, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Idris, who disclosed this to journalists in Minna said the law was not aimed at attacking the culture of almajiri.

He noted that similar laws in other states have more or less turned Niger State into a dumping ground for the almajiris that were sent packing from those states. According to Idris, anybody caught begging will be repatriated to his state.

The commissioner insisted that quranic teachers who are interested in running schools for the almajiris should provide them with accommodation and feeding without sending them out to beg.

According to him, there are more than enough Shangaya schools in the state-run by government to accommodate interested almajiris.

“What we will not tolerate is somebody running an almajiri school in a way of turning them to beggars. Gradually, Minna is becoming a dumping ground for almajiri. We have discovered that many of them are not even from this state.”