A northern Nigerian man named Mohammed Saidu has been sentenced to two weeks in prison for storing bags of human faeces outside his home.
Saidu was taken to court in Kano state after his neighbours reported the foul odour to environmental officials. They complained that the bags of human faeces he stored made life unbearable for them.
Magistrate Halima Wali ordered that he be detained for 14 days and fined 100,000 naira. She described his actions as highly 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 for use as fertiliser, a common practice in the region, though it is rarely publicly acknowledged.

Local chief Musa Abdullahi told the BBC that “I think he had close to 50 bags of faeces the first time the complaint reached me.”
Saidu pleaded guilty in court to the charge of endangering public health.
Furthermore, before delivering her ruling, Magistrate Wali visited the property to see the bags of faeces for herself.
She ordered Saidu to clear all the waste from the premises and promise never to repeat the offence.
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