Mohammed Bello Abubakar

Mohammed Bello Abubakar, also known as Mohammed Bello Masaba,^[1] was an 84-year old Nigerian man who stirred up controversy in his hometown of Bida, Niger State, when he married 86 wives, and fathered 170 children.^[2] Islamic scholars limit the number of wives a Muslim man can have to four wives, mandating they must be all treated equally.^[2] However, due to his extensive polygamy, and for being outspoken, he was charged under Sharia law and sent to prison.^[1]

Bello boasted:

"If God permits me, I will marry more than 86 wives. A normal human being could not marry 86 – but I can only by the grace of God," a defiant Bello Masaba told The Christian Science Monitor during a recent prison interview. "I married 86 women and there is peace in the house – if there is peace, how can this be wrong?"^[1]

Bello had worked as a teacher and Imam during his life. He lived with his family in an entire apartment block. Bello claims that he never pursued his wives, and claims that they sought him out due to his reputation as a healer. Many of his wives were much younger than he was, and a few were younger than some of his elder children. In interviews with Al Jazeera English, his wives claimed that he was a good husband and father. Although the Quran states that a man may marry four wives, Bello claimed that when the Quran set a law, it must also set a punishment for offenders, and no punishment was given for this particular offense.^[3] Despite this, Bello was arrested in late 2008 by Islamic authorities and tried before a Sharia court.^[2]

Thousands of protestors gathered to protest against his actions, and claimed that if he were released, they would not allow him to return to his home. Meanwhile, his wives announced their outrage at his arrest. At his trial, he was asked to divorce 82 of his wives.^[4][5] Due to his persistent refusal to do so, he was sentenced to death, but the sentence was lifted when he agreed to the mass divorce in early September 2008.^[3][6][7] However, he still faced eviction from his home. The case was reported throughout Nigeria and around the world, and angered many Nigerian Muslims. Following the case, Bello advised other men not to follow his example:

"A man with ten wives would collapse and die, but my own power is given by Allah. That is why I have been able to control 86 of them," he told the BBC.^[6]

More recently, "the man with 86 wives" has reappeared in articles concerning an alleged plot to disenfranchise his family. Moreover, members of his family were prevented by thugs from registering to vote.^[8] Nine member of the Masaba family were injured by thugs whenever they attempted to register to vote.^[9][10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Nigerian man with 86 wives faces a 'fatwa' The Christian Science Monitor, 24 October 2008.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Nigerian with 86 wives arrested BBC.co.uk, 16 September 2008.
3. ^ ^{a b} Nigerian advises against 86 wives BBC.co.uk, 8 August 2008
4. ^ Nigerian man to divorce 82 wives BBC.co.uk, 31 August 2008.
5. ^ Nigeria's Islamic authority has told an 84-year-old man with 86 wives and 170 children that he must whittle his number of spouses down to four. Mohammed Bello Abubakar, a former teacher and preacher, could face the death penalty under Sharia law, which was reintroduced to the Muslim-majority Niger State in 2000. Legal Brief Today, 25 August 2008.
6. ^ ^{a b} Nigerian faces death for 86 wives BBC.co.uk, 21 August 2008
7. ^ Nigerian man agrees to divorce 82 wives theage.com.au, 2 September 2008
8. ^ Man with 86 wives to sue INEC NewNigerianPolitics.com. 6 February 2011.
9. ^ Man with 86 Wives Alleges Disenfranchisement ThisDayLive.com, 7 February 2011.
10. ^ INEC Displays List Of Candidates In States The Times of Nigeria, 7 February 2011.

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Name	Abubakar, Mohammed Bello
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