“Buhari” dog owner rearrested “for his safety”, charged to court
The “Buhari” dog saga is not about to end.
Joe Chinakwe, who named his pet dog after President Muhammadu Buhari, is back in police detention. He was initially arrested last Saturday when Kaliu, his “mallam” neighbour, reported him to the police.
Kaliu said his father is named “Buhari” and that he couldn’t bear hearing a dog nearby bear the same name. Both men live at Omikunle Street, Sango-Ota, Ogun State.
Police initially said they would drag Chinakwe to court for “breach of public peace” but freed him, Tuesday, after public outrage.
Chinakwe said Kaliu is a foreigner living illegally in Nigerian. He said Kaliu conspired with an Hausa police officer to oppress him.
Two days later, the police summoned the trader to the State Police Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta.
“I had to leave for Eleweran very early on Friday after receiving a letter on Thursday evening inviting me to the Command,” Chinakwe told Punch on Friday.
“I thought I was being called over for a peace talk, I never knew it was for the purpose of detaining me again.
“I am a law-abiding citizen of this country, I have never deliberately committed any offence before, I don’t know why I am being treated like this.
“I only called the dog that name for the love I have for President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria, I didn’t mean to taunt or hurt anybody with it.
“I don’t know what next could follow this, I am afraid for my life, I am in danger, please help me,” he said.
The police, however cannot make up their minds on why Chinakwe was rearrested.
State police spokesperson Abimbola Oyeyemi said in a statement to journalist:
“The man is here with us. He is at the Criminal Investigation Department. The charge will be prepared here and he will be arraigned at Sango Magistrate Court on Monday. He is going to court on Monday because what he did was highly provocative. It can cause an ethnic and religious crisis. We have to be proactive, we cannot fold our arms and allow the state to be plunged into crisis. In fact, the arrest was made to save the suspect’s life because the complainant and his group have threatened to kill him if he comes back and this may trigger violence”.
If the police rearrested Chinakwe to save his life, why charge him to court?
Lawyers have weighed into the saga. They don’t agree with the police.
READ: “I will name my goats after President Buhari and Aisha, his wife” – Nigerian
Nigerian lawyer Inibehe Effiong asked in a column published: “How does the naming of a dog ‘Buhari’ amount to a conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace?”
“In the eyes of the law, it is immaterial that the human name so given is equally borne by a public figure, such as the president of Nigeria or any other person for that matter.
“It is not permissible under our constitutional law and criminal jurisprudence for a person to be prosecuted for conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace contrary to Section 249 (1) (d) of the Criminal Code when the very conduct complained of is not in itself a criminal offence,” he wrote..
