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In
an attempt to rid Benin City of the mentally ill roaming its streets,
no fewer than 50 people were taken off the streets at the weekend by
officials of the ministry of women affairs and social development.

The raid was
carried out around Ring Road, Mission Road, Ramat Park, New Benin
Iyaro, along Urubi Street, and Ugbowo areas of the city.

At the end of the
exercise, which lasted several hours, a total of 43 men and eight women
were taken off the streets. The Director of Rehabilitation of the
Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Olorunfemi Oikeh,
disclosed that they will be handed over to the 14 government approved
traditional herbal healing homes for confinement, treatment and cure,
after which they will be re-united with their families.

He further stated
that the exercise is one of the routine duties of his department and
called on members of the public to report the presence of any mentally
ill people in their environs.

Some of the
traditional healers who took part in the raid commended the state
government for keeping the streets of Benin clean and free of the
danger the mentally ill pose to the society.

They, however, appealed to the state government to increase their
monthly subvention, which they claimed was grossly inadequate, adding
that mentally ill persons are voracious eaters.