The police in Ogun State have arrested a 30-year-old trader for naming his pet dog ‘Buhari’.
The trader, Joe Fortemose Chinakwe, of No 10, Omikunle Street,
Sango-Ota, Ogun State, was reportedly arrested last weekend, after one
of his neighbours of Northern extraction complained bitterly that he
named his dog after his father, Alhaji Buhari.
According to Vanguard, the complainant reported the case at Sango
Police Station, last Saturday, after which the trader was arrested and
detained. However, it was gathered that efforts by the police to recover
the dog, which they intended using as evidence failed following a
clever move by the suspect.
The police have refused to grant him bail as the complainant.
Vanguard further reported that two days later when Chinakwe’s relatives
went to Sango police station to further plead for his bail only to be
informed that the case file and the suspect have been transferred to
Ogun State Police Command headquarters at Eleweran.
A relation to the suspect, who simply identified himself as
Chiedozie, told Vanguard that his brother was being persecuted for no
just cause and expressed fears that he may either be poisoned inside
police cell or thrown into jail. Chiedozie said: “Chinakwe is a lover of dogs and he names them after things that tickle him.
"He bought this dog a year ago and named it Buhari.
Unfortunately, some Northerners, who dominate the vicinity where he
resides misconstrued his intention and connived to take him up. The
complainant then claimed it was derogatory because his father answers
Buhari.”
When contacted around 8pm yesterday, the acting Police spokesman in
Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi, ASP, said he was still trying to get the
Divisional Police Officer in-charge of Sango for details. Oyeyemi later
called, stating that: “I have made enquiries.
"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.”
Continuing, he said: “He was arrested last Saturday and we are
taking him to court later today (Tuesday) or tomorrow morning (today).
You know an average Northerner will feel bad over such a thing. It can
cause serious ethnic crisis or religious confrontation because when you
are relegating such a name to a certain person, you are indirectly
insulting him.”
When asked about the whereabouts of the dog that will be used as evidence against the suspect, the police spokesman said: “The dog cannot follow anybody except the owner. We will use him as our evidence because he did not deny it.”
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