The Kogi State House of Assembly has raised an alarm over the influx of mentally deranged persons from other states into Kogi State.

In a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Ajaokuta State Constituency, Hon. Abu Onoru-Oiza Jibrin, he noted that this disturbing trend requires urgent attention.

?Without doubt, there has been a disturbing surge of individuals perceived as deranged and rejected persons wandering the streets in Okene, Lokoja, and a few other places. Recent reports indicated that these individuals were brought in from Edo State.

?We are aware that these individuals are being increasingly exploited by criminal elements. It has become evident that some nefarious actors, including kidnappers, have adopted the tactic of disguising themselves in garments and behaviours suggestive of mental instability.

?This deliberate impersonation is intended to deceive the public and law enforcement agents but allows the criminals to operate undetected. We are concerned that the disguised culprits-in-waiting leverage their appearances to blend into communities, thereby complicating efforts to identify them and neutralise their harmful activities.

?Such acts of disguise not only exploit societal empathy and misconceptions surrounding mental health but also pose significant and escalating threats to public safety and security.

?I am concerned that the unchecked presence of these individuals, regardless of whether they are mentally challenged or not, poses significant risks to public safety. Their unregulated presence could create a situation conducive to insecurity, as it allows such offenders to exploit the lack of scrutiny for their activities to engage in kidnapping and other illicit acts.

?Moreover, it may contribute to public disorder with increased loitering by malingering criminals and undermine public confidence in the government?s ability to uphold law and order effectively.

While acknowledging the critical role of government in safeguarding the welfare and rights of citizens, particularly those who are vulnerable, including individuals with mental health challenges and other forms of disabilities, the first-time lawmaker argued that the state government has a dual obligation, in such circumstances, to provide adequate care, support, and rehabilitation for these individuals while simultaneously upholding its responsibility to ensure a secure, orderly, and safe environment for the general public to foster public trust in government and ensure social stability within the state.

Explaining further, Hon. Jibrin said, ?We are cognizant of the need for collaborative efforts among all relevant stakeholders to tackle effectively the pressing issue of deranged and abandoned individuals on our streets and the need to stop criminal impersonation of mentally challenged individuals to perpetrate crime.

?I seek, through the intervention of this honourable House, the need to call on the State Government, which holds overarching responsibility for policy formulation and implementation, to task the State Ministry of Health with the responsibility of providing medical, psychological, and rehabilitative care for genuinely affected individuals, and the State Ministry of Environment, responsible for ensuring that public spaces remain clean, safe, and orderly, while the law enforcement agents profile the deranged individuals to identify criminals.?

He urged the State Government to take immediate action to sanitise the streets by identifying and documenting individuals with mental health challenges and vagrants and sending them to appropriate rehabilitation centres for care and reintegration.

The lawmaker also charged the present administration to ensure that all persons, whether rehabilitated or not, who are identified as non-indigenous to the State, are respectfully returned to their respective states of origin through coordinated interstate engagements.

?That the State Ministry of Health, in collaboration with relevant agencies and stakeholders, be called upon to provide medical and psychological care to affected individuals, while the Ministry of Environment, in partnership with security agencies, enforce measures to ensure public spaces remain free of loitering and effectively differentiate between those with mental health challenges and those engaging in criminal exploitation.

?The State Government should partner with nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and other stakeholders to provide continuous support for rehabilitated individuals and reintegrate them into society whenever possible,? he added.

Seconding the motion, a member representing Bassa State Constituency, Hon. Sunday Daku, described the motion as timely, stressing that the Government must do appropriate profiling of those coming into the state.

Hon. Bode Ogunmola of Ogori Magongo State Constituency is of the view that this development remains a dangerous trend that must be nipped in the bud.

He said, ?Moving mad people from other states to Kogi State is a big threat to our security. We saw recently on social media that some people who pretended to be mad were caught with dangerous weapons and ammunition. This house should avoid speaking grammar and act fast.?

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Umar Aliyu Yusuf, asked the mover of the motion if he had evidence of the influx of people who are mentally deranged into Kogi State, and he responded immediately that the streets of Lokoja and its environs have been flooded by criminals claiming to be mentally deranged. (The Guardian)

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