A crippled beggar rose and dashed off on Tuesday at the sight of the taskforce for the evacuation of beggars and destitute, abandoning his wheelchair in which was discovered weeds suspected to be Indian hemp.

There was a mild drama as the cripple suddenly took to his heels when he saw members of the taskforce from the Ministry of Social Welfares, Development, Culture and Tourism.

On sighting the taskforce, the suspected beggar immediately stood and dashed off with the man pushing his wheelchair, abandoning the instrument.

The taskforce was on a routine check along Ahmadu Bello Way, GRA, Ilorin.

When a search was conducted on the wheelchair, a substance suspected to be India hemp, matches and stone were recovered by the taskforce.

The leader of the team, Alhaji A.B. Idris, who is the Chief Social Welfare Officer in the ministry lamented that the suspect escaped arrest, but said the matter would be reported at the Area Commander’s office for investigation.

Alhaji Idris said that despite the warning and series of meeting with leaders of beggars in the state to desist from roaming the street of Ilorin, they have failed to comply with the government directives.

Alhaji Idris, however called on the general public to cooperate with the state government to ensure that beggars and destitute were evacuated from major streets in Ilorin.