Panic as man who named dog Buhari raises fresh alarm

– Joachim Iroko Chinakwe and his wife, Mrs Ifeoma Chinakwe, no longer live in their home in Ogun state because of fear

– Chinakwe was arrested, detained and arraigned for naming his dog after Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari

Just back from detention, Joachim Iroko Chinakwe and his wife, Mrs Ifeoma Chinakwe, have intimated the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (COHRD) of the rising threats to their lives.

Iroko was arrested, detained and arraigned by the police in Ogun state for allegedly naming his dog after Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari.

Iroko later said he named his dog after the president because the latter is his mentor. He also hinted that he had other dogs named after prominent leaders across the world.

The police has however explained that he Iroko was arrested and arraigned for conducts likely to cause breach of peace and not because he named his dog Buhari.

CHORD told NAIJ.com that in the evening of Thursday, August, 25, 2016, Iroko and his wife observed strange individuals lurking within the precinct of their residential apartment in Sango Ota, Ogun state.

READ ALSO: Why police took man who named his dog Buhari to court

On noticing the suspicious movements, he took his wife and two children to where they could get a vehicle to convey them to a relation’s house to pass the night.

“As Mrs Ifeoma Chinakwe who is heavily pregnant was about entering a commercial bus with her children to where their relation resides, some unidentified men who spoke in Hausa language pointed at her and made comments which she did not understand.

“Luckily, another female passenger who is conversant with Hausa language and heard the comments made by the men who pointed at Mrs Ifeoma asked her if she offended the men.

“The men were saying that her husband is the ‘troublesome’ man who named his dog after President Muhammadu Buhari. That she and her husband can continue running but that they will be caught.

“Upon the translation of the threatening comments made by the unknown men, Mrs Ifeoma called her husband immediately and asked him to leave the house. Chinakwe rushed out to his friend’s apartment where he passed the night.”

Continuing, CHORD said: “We have equally been informed by Chinakwe and his wife that they have observed that since Chinakwe was released from prison custody, the complainant (by name Musa) who reported him to the police has been roaming their residential area in an observatory and very suspicious manner which has made them apprehensive.

READ ALSO: Buhari is my mentor, says man who named dog after president

“Some spirited residents of Sango Ota community have been advising the Chinakwes’ to be very vigilant and possibly relocate from their community for their safety. Though they have expressed readiness to relocate to a safer area, they are constrained by paucity of funds.

“Given this troubling state of affairs, we advised Chinakwe to make an official report of the seeming and continuous threats to his life and family to the nearest police station. Consequent to the above, Chinakwe on Saturday, 27th August, 2016 reported the threats to the Divisional Police Station, Sango Ota.

“The Investigation Police Officer (IPO) in charge of the case at the Ogun State Police Headquarters, Abeokuta has equally been notified.”

While Chinakwe was in custody, his pet dog, ‘Buhari’ was killed by unknown persons.

The organisation headed by Inibehe Effiong said since Thursday, 25th August, Iroko and his family have been squatting outside.

“They only visit their apartment in the day. They are currently restless because of this pervasive sense of insecurity. It has been a harrowing experience for them, especially for the heavily pregnant Mrs Ifeoma and their two children.

“We solicit the urgent intervention of the government, human rights community, security agencies, media, government, international community and the general public in this matter.

“The right to life is sacred and guaranteed by the provisions of section 33 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended); Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 1981 and Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.

READ ALSO: Dog named Buhari: See 8 other animals named after famous people

“Every citizen of Nigeria, irrespective of his or her ethnic, religious or political identity and economic or social status should be treated with dignity and accorded equal protection by the law and the government,” Effiong said.

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