By Desire Emmanuel
A man in Kano State was on Wednesday, June 17, sentenced to two weeks in prison after neighbours complained that he was storing bags of human faeces outside his house, which they said made life unbearable for them.
The man, Mohammed Saidu, was taken to the magistrates’ court in the city of Kano after residents reported the foul smell to environmental officials.
The Magistrate, Halima Wali, ordered that he be jailed for 14 days and also fined him the sum of N100,000, describing his actions as inconsiderate and a threat to his neighbours’ health.
Saidu, whose job is to empty septic tanks, is believed to have been selling the faeces to farmers to use as fertiliser which is a common practice in the region.
“I think he had close to 50 bags of faeces the first time the complaint reached me,” a local chief, Musa Abdullahi, told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) shortly after the sentence.
Neighbours said the stench from the house became so overwhelming that it was impossible to relax at their various homes.
One of those who complained, Samaila Inuwa, told the BBC that they had initially tried to resolve the matter privately.
“We spoke to him about it but he didn’t stop,” Inuwa said.
Before delivering her ruling, the magistrate visited the house to see the bags of faeces for herself.
She ordered Saidu to clear all the waste from the premises and he was said to have promised never to repeat the offence.
The local chief said he tried to intervene when Saidu started storing the waste.
“When he first started it, I spoke to him about it and he packed them out [removed them] and stopped,” he said. “I did not know when he resumed.”
He added that neighbours had chosen to bypass him this time and go directly to the authorities.
Abdullahi said his own house was so far away enough that he had not been affected by the smell, but added that he understood the residents’ frustration.
“My mission is for everybody in this area to live in peace,” he said. “When he is released, we will talk to him and the neighbours again.”
