He was arrested by the Islamic police because he intended to sell himself… at auction – He had set a starting price of 42,000 euros
Nigerian Islamic police have arrested a man who tried to sell himself at auction to escape poverty.
According to local authorities, the 26-year-old tailor Aliyou Idris was arrested on Tuesday by the moral police of Kano, after photos of him were published on social networking sites where he stated that he was selling himself at auction, with a starting price of 20 million naira (approximately 42,000 euros) .
Kano, in northern Nigeria, is one of ten Muslim states in the country where Sharia, Islamic law, is applied in parallel with Nigerian law.
“We arrested him because he put himself up for sale, this is illegal under Islamic law,” said Laval Ibrahim Fage, a spokesman for the Hezbollah religious police. The young man is in custody , he added, explaining that he proceeded with this “unacceptable action” due to his poverty and ignorance.
Last week, Idris was circulating in the city with the placard where he mentioned his “price” hanging from his neck. Residents took pictures of him, which made a sensation on the internet.
He told reporters that he wanted to be sold to escape “unbearable poverty” and that he would give half the money to his parents and two million naira to the one who would organize the auction. He also promised that he would become “the faithful servant” of those who bought him.
A spokesman for the Islamic police said Idris had not been prosecuted .
Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, has been hit hard by the pandemic and restrictive measures. Faced with a recession for the second time in five years, its economy has only begun to recover in recent months. But inflation, especially in food, remains very high , exacerbating the poverty of many residents, most of whom are forced to live on less than two dollars a day.
