TheCable

A 67-year-old Nigerian citizen, Mr. Chukwujindu Aligbe, is in trouble over his pet pastime ─ breeding animals

The commissioner of police in charge of pensions office at force headquarters, Abuja, Mr. Jubril Yakubu, has ordered Aligbe ─ his next-door neighbour ─ locked up and charged to court for breading dogs.

According to the first information report (FIR) obtained by TheCable from Mararaba Area Court dated August 28, 2014, the incident was recorded as “Criminal Conspiracy, Disturbance of Public Peace and Making Atmosphere Noxious to Health”.

A concerned relative told TheCable that trouble for Aligbe started on August 27, 2014  when Yakubu alleged that  two of his dogs engaged in a fight the previous night, attracting unpleasant noise from the kennel in Aligbe’s courtyard.

Yakubu, a resident of Hiltop Estate Maraba, asked the divisional police officer (DPO) to arrest his Aligbe.

The DPO was said to have acted swiftly and obtained an instant court order to lock Aligbe up in Keffi prisons for two days, until he was rescued by his church members.

According to the statement in the FIR, Aligbe, a retired civil servant and an elder in Four Square Gospel Mission, Asokoro, was accused by the police commissioner of breeding about 40 dogs, monkeys and other wild animals.

The statement read: “On August 27, 2014, at about 7.30am the Commissioner of Police in Charge of Police Pensions Office FHQ Abuja, a resident at Hill Top Estate Mararaba, reported to the DPO Mararaba ‘A’ Division that for over four years now, that you, Chukwujindu Aligbe of the same address breading almost 40 dogs, monkeys and other dangerous and wild animals in your dwelling of residential house for commercial purposes.

“And being his neighbour at the above address, conspired with your wife name not known and the rest members of your family, to keep these animals in such a way that they constantly bark, make all sorts of noise and pass faeces within your premises which only demarcated from his own by only dwarf wall, which is quit disturbing and noxious to his health and that of his family members of which all efforts to advise you to relocate the dogs proved abortive”.

“You thereby committed offences contrary to section 97,113 and 192 respectively of the Penal Code law as suggested.”

At the resumed hearing on the matter last week, the trial judge,  Vincent Gwahemba, who had refused the accused  bail earlier,  explored the possibility of settling the matter amicably out of court.

According to Gwahemba,  such a simple case ought not to have been brought to court in the first place.

“If the complainant had complained that the dogs in question were directly by his window, they can be moved to a more convenient spot,” he said.

Resident pastor, Foursquare Gospel Church, Asokoro, Rev. Julius Msheliza, expressed shock that having a domestic dog could lead to being locked up in jail.

Msheliza, who was in court with other members of his church in solidarity with the accused, said they want so ensure that justice is done.

He said: “The accused is a member and an elder in my church, which makes me interested in the case since I have to look after the flock God has placed under my care. That is why I am here.

“The case is still in court, we therefore wait to see what the final outcome will be. The final outcome will decide whether we will be satisfied or not. So at this moment we are still waiting what the conclusion will be. I was disappointed the way he was arrested because I was in court when the whole issue started. He was accused of keeping dogs in his house and I don’t know when keeping has become a criminal case, and within 15 minutes he was thrown into Keffi Prison. To me that is not right.

“My expectation is that rule of law should prevail and the right thing should be done. If a member of my congregation is found liable, then let the court take its full course but if the person is falsely or wrongfully accused, the accuser should be held accountable or reprimanded for accusing an innocent person.”

Also speaking to TheCable, a member of the accused family denied the allegations that they are breeding dogs for commercial purposes.

“On the contrary, what we have is only 10 dogs, which are domestic animals and there are no other animals apart from few birds, which are in cages. There were no wild animals as was reported.

“As I said, we have only 10 dogs, and six partitions for them, which are in twos. We have interest in dogs and when the accused retired he picked on that because this place is for a multi-purpose.

“No other person in the neighbourhood has complained for the past 14 years that he has been keeping the dogs. The dogs only bark when they hear strange sounds or movement or see strangers come in,” he said.

A visit to the residence of the retired PHCN staff confirmed that only  different breeds of foreign dogs and birds were kept in his compound.

Meanwhile, following the failure of the out-of court settlement option, the case was adjourned till September 22, 2014 for continued hearing.