About: Area boys

Area boys (Yoruba: agbèrò) are loosely organized gangs of street children, teenagers and youths, composed mostly of males, who operate on the streets of major cities in Nigeria, including Lagos, Ibadan, Onitsha, Aba, Umuahia, Akure, Ado-Ekiti and Enugu.They extort money from passers-by, public transporters and traders, sell illegal drugs, act as informal security guards, and perform other "odd jobs" in return for compensation. In present times, "Agbero" is used informally to describe a person, usually a thug, who collects rates, fees, tools and other forms of tax around motor parks.