A traffic officer was assaulted by a group of persons with disabilities after he approached them to stop them from begging along the roadside, according to eyewitnesses. A video of the confrontation is now circulating online.
Details of exactly how the confrontation started are still unclear, but eyewitnesses say the officer’s attempt to move the group away from the road led to a physical struggle, in which he was attacked.
Two Sides of One Difficult Story
It is important to look at this from more than one angle.
On one hand, traffic officers have a duty to keep roads safe and clear. Roadside begging can distract drivers, block pathways, and in some cases put both the beggars and other road users at risk, especially on busy roads. An officer trying to enforce that order is doing his job.
On the other hand, begging is, for many persons with disabilities in Nigeria, not a choice but a last resort. Nigeria offers very little in the way of state support, disability pensions, or accessible job opportunities for people with physical or sensory impairments. For many, the roadside is one of the only places they can earn anything at all. Being suddenly chased away, without an alternative means of survival, can understandably provoke fear, anger, and resistance.
Neither side of this story cancels out the other. An officer should not be assaulted while doing his job, but a system that leaves disabled citizens with no option but to beg, and then criminalises that begging, is also failing them.
Why This Keeps Happening
No real safety net. Nigeria has no strong, consistently enforced disability welfare system, leaving many disabled citizens without income, housing support, or guaranteed employment.
Roadside begging is often the only option. Without government support, streets and traffic junctions become one of the few places disabled persons can generate daily income.
Enforcement without alternatives. Officers are often told to clear beggars from roads, but there is rarely a plan for where those people are supposed to go instead.
Tension builds quickly. When someone’s only source of survival is under threat, confrontations can turn physical fast, especially in a group setting where people feel safety in numbers.
The Cost on Both Sides
The officer risks injury simply for doing his job, and such videos going viral can damage public trust in law enforcement’s ability to manage situations calmly. At the same time, the group involved may now face arrest or public backlash, adding another layer of hardship to lives that are often already difficult. Neither outcome solves the underlying problem: disabled Nigerians still need a way to survive.
A Way Forward
Government-backed disability support programs, including skills training, micro-grants, and accessible job placement, would reduce the need for roadside begging in the first place.
Officers should be trained in de-escalation, especially when dealing with vulnerable groups, to avoid situations turning violent.
Clear referral systems should exist so that when officers move beggars off the road, there is somewhere for them to be directed to, such as a registered support centre, instead of simply being told to leave.
Community and NGO partnerships can help identify and support disabled persons who beg, connecting them to longer-term assistance.
Assault on any officer carrying out lawful duty should still be investigated, but the response should consider the full context, not just the act itself.
My Thoughts
Nobody should be attacked for doing their job, and I don’t excuse the assault on the officer. But I also can’t look at this story and pretend it’s simply about “unruly beggars.” These are people with disabilities who, in most cases, are on the road because they have nowhere else to turn for income. When you remove someone’s only means of survival without offering any alternative, tension is almost guaranteed. The real failure here isn’t just in that one moment of conflict, it’s in a system that has left disabled citizens to fend for themselves on the streets for years, then sends an officer to move them along with no plan for what happens next. We need to fix the root problem, not just police the symptom.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
