Revisiting the Fake Breast Cancer Patients

Revisiting the Fake Breast Cancer Patients

Penultimate week, I wrote a piece entitled ‘Between Poverty and Dignity’ in this column. That piece featured two women, Ngozi John and Chioma Ibe, who pretended to be breast cancer patients to beg for alms from sympathisers in Minna, the Niger State capital. They coated their breasts with substances that made them look cancerous to hoodwink the public into parting with their cash. They were exposed and arrested by the police after making N49, 500 in three days from the dubious business. They had four kids, aged between 8 and 12 years that they used as guides as they paraded the streets with their chests open, begging for alms. Three of the kids were Ngozi’s, while the fourth was her neighbour’s.

They were promptly charged to court, and last week, a Minna Magistrate’s Court, presided over by Nasiru Muazu, sentenced the two women to various prison terms and options of fines for all the charges brought against them. The police prosecutor, Abdullahi Alhaji read the charges to the suspects, saying they were arraigned for conspiracy, cruelty to children, unlawful compulsory labour and extortion. He said the offences were punishable under Sections 230, 280 and 290 of the Penal Code. The two women pleaded guilty to all the offences and begged the court for leniency. Abdullahi then urged the court to summarily try the suspects following their pleas.

In his ruling, Mu’azu said the court lacked jurisdiction to try the suspects on charges of conspiracy, but sentenced each of the two women to a total of 18 months imprisonment or N7, 000 option of fine. For compulsory labour, the court sentenced the women to four months imprisonment or payment of N2, 000 fines, while for cruelty to children, they were asked to pay N2, 000 or spend six months in prison. For extortion, the convicts were sentenced to eight months imprisonment or payment of N3, 000 option of fine. As for the N49, 500 proceeds from the illegal begging business which was found in their possession at the time of their arrest, the court ordered that the sum be forfeited to the government.

While commending the speedy action to bring those dubious characters to book, it must be pointed out that the law was too lenient on them in view of the nature of the offences committed. Those prison terms and options of fines are simply not deterrent enough for people who went about deceiving the public to collect money and initiating innocent children into such dishonest means of livelihood. Obviously, those laws were made when the Naira was very strong, but they have become laughable and of no serious effect now that the value of our currency is at its lowest ebb. There is, therefore, need to review the laws to make them more punitive to serve as deterrent to others who may want to engage in such illegalities.

The police should also clamp down on the Onitsha syndicate which tutored the women convicts on how to fake being breast cancer patients. Ngozi said in her confession that the syndicate gives tutorials to other Nigerians on how to pretend to be suffering from different health conditions to beg for alms from unsuspecting public. The police should round them up and charge them to court also, while stiffer penalties than those of Ngozi and Chioma should be meted out to them to discourage the dishonest practice. The government, on its part, should do something about poverty which leads people into such unwholesome acts.

By Nike Oluwole.

(First published on September 9, 2010)