The Kano State Bureau of Statistics, KSBS, has rejected claims by a Non-Governmental Organisation that over two million underaged children are living as street beggars in the state, describing the figure as misleading and inconsistent with verified official data.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Director-General Kano State Bureau of Statistics, Suraj Sulaiman, in Kano, stating that the bureau’s attention was drawn to a publication which alleged that over two million street urchins sleep in unsafe and unhygienic environments across Kano metropolis.

Sulaiman stated that the claim did not reflect the findings of an official survey conducted by the Bureau across eight metropolitan Local Government Areas in the state.

“The bureau’s mapping exercise identified a total of 6,573 street beggars.

“Children aged 0 to 10 years account for 7 per cent, representing 457 individuals, while youths aged 11 to 20 years constitute the largest demographic group at 56.4 per cent,” he said.

The Director-General therefore explained that the findings suggested that street begging in the state was more closely linked to youths vulnerability, poverty, unemployment and limited access to education, rather than the scale of child begging portrayed in the NGO’s report.

He also stressed that poverty remained the primary driver of street begging in Kano, with unemployment and low educational attainment also contributing significantly.

The director-general further emphasised the need for regulatory compliance in statistical activities, noting that all organisations conducting surveys within Kano State must obtain prior clearance and official approval from KSBS.

He therefore called on the NGO to publicly provide evidence of approval granted by the bureau for the survey on which its publication was based.

The bureau said it demand that the NGO retract the 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 regarding misrepresentation of official statistical information and unauthorised statistical activities.

It added that the Kano State Government under the leadership of Governor Abba Kabir-Yusuf, had declared a state of emergency in education and introduced interventions aimed at addressing the root causes of vulnerability among children and youths.