A Chief Magistrate’s Court in Sango-Ota, Ogun State, Tuesday freed Joachim Iroko, a man who named his dog after Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari.
The court presided over by O. Adebo, ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case against the accused and thereby struck out all the charges brought against him.
Mr. Iroko, 41, was arrested by the Police in August 2016, following a report by one Haliru Umar, an indigene of Sokoto State, who claimed to have been offended by the naming of the dog.
Mr. Umar has insisted that the dog owner had a sinister motive for naming the animal after the president.
The arrest of Mr. Iroko had sparked fierce criticism across the country as activists and senior citizens accused the police and the Federal Government of violating the rights of the accused.
The Police said the accused was arrested based on a report of alleged breached of the peace and exonerated the presidency from the matter.
President Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, in a statement also absolve his boss of having a hand in Mr. Iroko’s ordeal.
Mr. Shehu had indicated that the president loved humour and was paying more attention to newspaper cartoons and would hardly have time to know what was happening to the accused.
Despite the nationwide condemnation, the police went ahead to charge Mr. Iroko to court and for one year, could not prove the charges brought against him.
When the case came up for resumed hearing on Tuesday, the chief magistrate said the prosecution could not file witnesses since December 2016.
Mr. Adebo said he had no choice but to strike out the case for want of diligent prosecution.
