The Kano State Government, through its Bureau of Statistics (KSBS), has disowned claims that over two million underage children are living as street beggars in the State, describing the figure as misleading and inconsistent with its verified data.
A statement signed by its Director General, Dr Suraj Sulaiman, on Monday said its attention had been drawn to a publication by an NGO, Global Improvement of Less Privileged Persons Initiative (GIOPPINI), which alleged that more than two million street urchins sleep in unsafe and unhygienic environments across Kano metropolis.
The Bureau stated that the circulating claims “do not reflect the findings of the official survey conducted by Kano State Bureau of Statistics (KSBS) across eight metropolitan Local Government Areas of the State.”Kano local events
Providing details from its own mapping exercise, the Bureau said it identified a total of 6,573 street beggars.
According to the statement, of that figure, children aged 0–10 years account for 7 percent, representing 457 individuals. It added that youths aged 11–20 years constitute the largest demographic group at 56.4 percent.
SolaceBase reports that the Bureau explained that this finding suggests the issue is “more strongly associated with youth vulnerability, poverty, unemployment, and limited access to education,” rather than the scale of child begging portrayed in the NGO’s publication.
It stressed that poverty remains the primary driver of street begging in Kano, with unemployment and low educational attainment also contributing significantly.
KSBS further emphasized the importance of regulatory compliance in statistical activities.
It noted that all organizations conducting surveys within Kano State are required to obtain prior clearance and official approval from the Bureau.
In that regard, it called on GIOPPINI to “publicly provide evidence of any approval granted by the Bureau authorizing the conduct of the survey upon which its publication is based.”
The Bureau demanded that the NGO retract what it described as a misleading publication and issue a public correction within 48 hours, warning that failure to comply would compel it to pursue “all legal remedies available under the law concerning the misrepresentation of official statistical information and unauthorized statistical activities.”
The disclaimer follows a report published by an online newspaper titled “Over 2 Million Street Urchins Sleep In Unsafe Environment In Kano – NGO.”
In the report, GIOPPINI’s Executive Director, Mohammed Ali Mashi, described the situation as “very alarming,” warning that millions of underage children are exposed daily to health and safety hazards.
Mashi said the estimate was arrived at following what he termed a “thorough research and scientific survey” conducted by the organization.
While acknowledging that street begging remains a serious social concern, KSBS maintained that policy responses must be guided by credible and evidence-based data.
The Bureau noted that the Kano State Government under Abba Kabir Yusuf has declared a state of emergency in education and introduced interventions aimed at addressing the root causes of vulnerability among children and youths.
