[size=14pt]I’m not planning divorce, I want more wives - Man with 86 wives says [/size]
By Our Reporter
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
AN 84-year-old Nigerian Muslim preacher with 86 wives, Mohammed Bello, intends to marry more women despite an order from local Islamic chiefs to immediately divorce all but four of them, his spokesman said on Monday.







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Reports on Sunday said that Bello, who lives in Niger State with his wives and at least 170 children, was ordered by local religious elders to divorce 82 of his wives by Sunday or leave the area.



Reports also said he had agreed at a meeting with local officials to divorce all but four of the women and had asked for time to return them to their families.



But his spokesman, Mohammed Tahir, told Reuters on Monday that there was no such deal. “He is not going to divorce any of his wives. Rather, he is going to marry more,” Tahir said.



“Since he married those women, none of them or his children has ever gone out to beg for food or money. He has not broken any law and none of his wives has committed any offences that would be a basis for divorce,” he added.



Many Muslim scholars say Islam allows men to have up to four wives at any given time who must be treated equally. Bello has received a number of death threats in the last few weeks after the Nigerian media began reporting on his unusual marital situation.



“Sometimes people will call us, hide their numbers and tell us that they are coming to kill him and everyone in the compound if he doesn't leave,” Tahir said. “Is that fair? What offence has he committed?”



An official in the palace of the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Umar Edota, had told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Bida that Bello had agreed to retain only four of the wives.



Alhaji Edota is the chairman of the five-member committee of Islamic scholars set up by the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, to handle the disengagement.



He said the agreement was reached at a meeting between Bello and the Etsu Nupe in Bida.



http://odili.net/news/source/2008/sep/2/607.html

Wonders shall never cease.

Who in his or her right mind would give their daughter's hand in marriage to this freak?

From the report I got of the man, it is evident he is charming the women. It was garthered that he is a tradomedical practioner whose clients are mostly women. He won't find it difficult to get another wife as long as the charms are working.

It is a pity that many people that opposed moderate polygamy are now lining up behind this man and treat him like a hero of sort. Rather than protecting him, he should be sent to have his head examined. Responsible people should condemn his action instead of treating him with red carpet.

It is sad that some of those children would be "imported" to lagos to lead lowly life alimanjirs are known for.