Abdulmajid Ali, the assistant inspector general of Police in charge of Zone 2 Command, says the case of Joe Chinakwe, who named his dog Buhari, has no connection with President Muhammadu Buhari.
The AIG said the man named after his neighbour’s father and not the president, stressing that Chinakwe was not arraigned for naming the dog Buhari, but for inscribing the name on both sides of the dog and parading it around the Ketere area of Sango Ota, in the Ado Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, adding that his behaviour was capable of causing a breach of the peace.
Chinakwe, who had been released on bail, was arraigned after his neighbour, Halilu Umar, whose late father bore Buhari, reported him to the police.
In a statement on Monday, August 29, 2016, by the zone 2 command spokesperson, SP Muyiwa Adejobi, the AIG, stated that the case was misconstrued as an attack on the President.
“The case has nothing to do with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, but with one Alhaji Buhari,the biological father of the complainant, Alhaji Halilu Umar,” the statement read in part.
“It is fundamental to state that the man was not charged to court for christening his dog Buhari, but for the behaviour of the suspect and circumstances surrounding the matter when Mr. Joe (Chinakwe), who had been having conflicts with his neighbour, (complainant) named his dog Buhari, his neighbour’s father’s name, inscribed Buhari on both sides of the said dog, and started parading the dog with swagger among his neighbours and traders who are mostly northerners.”
