Abuja — The Federal Capital Territory Minister Sen. Adamu Aliero was dumbfounded last Thursday when he came face to face with a deceitful breast cancer beggar in her costume at the ministerial office in Area 11, Garki last Thursday.

The minister, who was meeting some personalities among them the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) Director Engineer Abubakar Shehu Yabo, expressed his shock when he came face to face with the teenager who appeared older than her age in the costume while her cashier held a polythene bag for collecting money from the public.

AEPB Task Force on beggars and hawkers led by one Paul Bulus arrested the suspects along with one Nogzi Ngozi Okoro who shut her healthy eyes pretending to be blind and was led along by one Chinasa Okoro to extort money from FCT residents around Wuse Zone 5 market.

In a discussion with the suspects at AEPB office in Area 3 last Friday, Amechi Nogzi the 'lead beggar' disclosed that both of them left their hometown Ozlum in Imo State and found their way into the FCT looking for school fees.

Amechi Ogozi said " I informed only my mother that I was going to Abuja to look for money to pay my school fees and she consented. As I was preparing to come, a man helped me to prepare the costume so that I might use it in making money."

Ngozi Okoro a pregnant woman was equally arrested along Wuse market the next day while for deceitfully tying cloth round her healthy eyes and employing the service of one Chinasa Okoro to lead her to extort money from the public.

"I do not like what I am doing. Circumstances beyond my control made me find myself begging. I will stop it and hustle."

The HOD Enforcement Mr Segun Olusa last Friday added that there are increasing cases of fake breast cancer in the FCT.

"I am surprised that in spite of the recent campaign from the minister's office to assist women with breast cancer, we can still have deceitful cases like this in the streets." said the director.