A Nigerian man whose pet dog shares the
same name as Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday asked the
court to dismiss criminal charges against him.
In a statement sent by his lawyer, the
owner of ‘Buhari’ the dog Joachim Iroko said he had a “legal right” to
name his pet whatever he wanted.
“The name is not exclusive to the
president, Buhari can just be a name given to any living creature just
for identity,” Iroko’s lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa told AFP.
Iroko appeared in court Ota in the
southwest state of Ogun in August after being charged with “conduct
likely to cause breach of peace” after naming his dog Buhari, Adegboruwa
said.
He was due back in court on Monday, September 19.
Police allege, however, that Iroko wrote
the name Buhari on the sides of his dog to antagonise his neighbour,
whose father’s name is Buhari.
“The man was not arrested for naming the
dog Buhari but the conduct surrounding the attitude or the actions of
the man,” Ogun state police spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi told AFP.
“The man has been having issues with one
of his neighbours whose father’s name is Buhari, it has nothing to do
with the president.”
Iroko denies the claims, with Adegboruwa saying that the animal was usually chained near his warehouse to deter thieves.
Adegboruwa says that the four-legged Buhari, a chocolate-brown coloured dog, has now gone missing.
“We are all looking for the dog,” Adegboruwa said, “maybe it is with the police, we still don’t know”.
The lawyer said that he hoped that the government would drop the “frivolous” case.
AFP
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