Indications are rife that with the establishment of the International Cancer Center, Abuja, ICCA, one of the pet projects of the First Lady, Hajia Turai Yar'Adua, Abuja is fast becoming a haven for persons who pose as those afflicted with cancer. This is as the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) recently arrested one of them.

Miss Amaechi Ogazi, a teenager was arrested together with her elder brother, Chidi Ogazi at the Wuse market by men of the AEPB, where they extort money from unsuspecting members of the public, under the guise of looking for money to treat the ailment.

The AEPB officials were on routine operation to rid the city of beggars and destitutes.

Amaechi, a native of Owerri, in Imo State disclosed that she came into the FCT a few weeks ago under the pretext of being afflicted with cancer to beg for alms as a means of catering for the educational needs of her elder brother.She further revealed that she engaged the services of a costume designer who prepares her for the business at an unspecified amount of money, even as she admitted that the business was a crime against God and humanity.

She explained that she was driven into the business as a result of poverty in her immediate family, stressing that she is responsible for the educational up keep of some of her younger brothers including Chidi, who was arrested alongside.In his confessional statement, Chidi corroborated the statement of his younger sister, insisting that poverty led them into the act, just as he pleaded for forgiveness.

"We are from a poor home with nobody to take responsibility for our educational needs. Our mother is a farmer and our father is a bicycle repairer in the village. The business my sister and I are doing is the only means of income for the family. Presently, I am in SSS 3 with no money to register for my exams. Please forgive us," he pleaded.

Director of AEPB, Engr. Abubakar Yabo, confirmed the incident, describing the arrest as one of the major achievements of the board, stressing that the arrest has given credence to the earlier call by the board for individuals to give alms to the poor through religious bodies instead of street beggars.

He assured that the board would not deter in carrying out its responsibility of keeping Abuja clean at all times, and that both culprits will be prosecuted, just as he warned members of the public to desist from such activities as the long arm of the law would always catch up with them.