“It’s insane!” Man destroys Nigeria police for arresting “Buhari” dog owner
Ogun State trader Joe Fortemose Chinakwe is being detained by the police after he named his dog “Buhari”.
“He is a lover of dogs and he names them after things that tickle him,” Chinakwe’s brother said. But the police insist the trader’s action could destroy public peace.
State police spokesperson Abimbola Oyeyemi said:
“The man bought a dog and inscribed ‘Buhari’ on both sides of its body. One mallam lodged a complaint and when our men got there, we found out that it was true. You know such thing can cause serious breach of the peace and ethnic or religious unrest. We are charging him to court for conduct likely to cause a breach of peace.”
The man who reported the trader to the police is a northerner who claims is father goes by the name “Alhaji Buhari.” So he found it offensive a dog next door would bear the same.
Ernest Okoduwa, a vocal critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, said the mallam probably lied.
“How will you arrest a man and refuse to grant him bail for naming his dog Buhari?” Okoduwa asked.
“I know a lot of people worship Buhari and believe he cannot be wrong. But have they also elevated him and his name to the status of the Holy Prophet? Is it now a form of blasphemy punishable by death to name your pet Buhari? This is a whole new level of insanity.
“I think one of the complainers only introduced the twist that his father’s name is Buhari to make it look as if its is not about the President.
“The question is, if the surname of a neighbour is Buhari and the pet’s name is Buhari, how is that an issue capable of breaching public peace as explained by the police? How is that an offense? Is this sufficient reason to refuse bail to the dog owner?
“How about a person whose surname is Jack and probably lives in neighbourhood with a dog named Jack? Should the dog owner by killed or arrested and denied bail? Please which law forbids Nigerians from naming their pet Buhari or Ernest?
“If it is not about the President, then how is it an issue capable of leading to break down of law and order as alleged by the police to have a dog that incidentally bears the same name with a neighbour?
“Why have there not been break down of law and order in neighbourhoods where dogs share the same names like Jack and Billy with humans? Why is this an exceptional case capable of disrupting the peace? I want you to think.”
Okoduwa made the comments in a post on his Facebook wall. Some of the things he said were responses to comments on the post he uploaded on Wednesday.
“I will go get a he-goat and name it Buhari, then she-goat and name it Aisha,” a commenter said.
Chinekwe was said to have bought his dog about a year ago. The police claimed he told his friends to kill the dog, the main evidence in the charges authorities may level again him, and feast on it.
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