A man in northern Nigeria has been sentenced to two weeks in jail after neighbors complained that he was storing sacks of human feces outside his home, creating a stench they said had made life unbearable.
Mohammed Saidu, a resident of the city of Kano, was brought before a court after residents in the neighborhood reported the strong smell coming from his property to environmental inspectors. Judge Halima Wali ordered him detained for 14 days and fined him 100,000 naira, about $74, describing his actions as gravely inconsiderate and a danger to his neighbors’ health.
Saidu, who works emptying septic tanks, apparently stored the feces in order to sell it to farmers for use as fertilizer. According to the BBC, the practice is common in the area, though rarely acknowledged publicly.
“I think he had close to 50 bags of feces the first time the complaint came to me,” local community leader Musa Abdullahi told the British broadcaster. Abdullahi said he had intervened previously when Saidu began storing the waste outside his home. “When he started it the first time, I spoke to him and he cleared them and stopped,” he said. “I did not know when he started again.”
Neighbors said the smell from the property became intolerable, making it impossible to relax at home. One complainant, Sma’ila Inuwa, said residents had first tried to resolve the matter directly with Saidu. “We spoke to him about it, but he did not stop,” he said.
In court, Saidu pleaded guilty to endangering public health. Before issuing her decision, Wali personally visited the property to see the sacks of feces. She then ordered Saidu to remove all the waste from the site and commit not to repeat the offense.
Inuwa said life in the neighborhood had already improved since the case reached court. “Finally, our neighborhood is pleasant again, without any bad smell,” he said.
Abdullahi added that this time, neighbors chose to bypass him and turn directly to the authorities. He said his own home was far enough away that he had not been affected by the smell, but stressed that he understood the residents’ frustration.
“My task is for everyone who lives in this area to live in peace,” he said. “When he is released, we will speak with him and the neighbors again.”