Argungu Fishing Festival (AFF) - Nigeria champion fisherman jailed. Rivals thought the winner was a bit fishy
Posted By Prince Kabir Abubakar, Webmaster, http://www.KebbiState.com and http://www.ArgunguFishingFestival.com.
The gills showed the fish was long dead - The Emir of Argungu
The winner of a prestigious Nigerian fishing festival has been stripped of his title and thrown in jail after rivals complained he cheated. Click this link, http://www.ArgunguFishingFestival.com, for his picture.
The 66kg (10st 6lb) fish that won the competition in Argungu, in northern Kebbi State, was already dead when it came out of the water, officials said.
Bello Yakub has been arrested and will appear before a magistrate next week.
The monster fish netted him prizes worth $33,000, including a car and a ticket to go on the Hajj pilgrimage.
It is thought the fish may have been caught in the much larger Niger River and brought to Argungu, where fishing is banned except during the festival.
“Other fishermen claimed he was not really one of them,“ the Emir of Argungu, Samaila Mera, said.
“We investigated and found that he couldn’t have taken it from the river in Argungu because the gills showed the fish was long dead.“
The BBC’s Hassan Sahabi who was at the festival says this may seriously damage the reputation of an event considered a major tourist attraction in Nigeria.
Mr Yakub had told reporters this was the first time he had won in more than 30 attempts.
“I just hope I can use the prize money for something good,“ he said.
The festival has been held regularly, along with an agricultural show and other cultural displays, since 1934.
Tens of thousands of fishermen wade through the water, which reaches chin-high in parts, dragging nets along the bottom.
Fish are placed inside a hollowed out calabash - a kind of dried pumpkin.
From LEADERSHIP News Online:
The winner of the just concluded Argungu International Fishing Festival Competition, Malam Bello Ya’u, has been stripped of the title and detained by the Police in Argungu for cheating in the contest.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Ya’u caught the biggest fish, weighing 65.95kg at the grand finale, held on Saturday. Ya’u received a brand new Honda Car from Maltina, two Hajj Seats to Saudi Arabia, one each from Kebbi State Government and Argungu Emirate Council and a television set from MTN.
Ya’u, however, lost the title and prizes for refusing to swear by the Holy Quran to defend an allegations that he smuggled a dead fish into the river a day before the competition.
Confirming this development to NAN in his palace today, the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Sama’ila Mera, said he personally investigated the case and found that the suspect with one Zazzagawa, committed the offence. He said the two suspects, who were handed over to the Police, had since confessed their crime and that appropriate actions would be taken against them.
The emir dismissed the assertion that the incident would negatively affect the festival and Argungu Emirate.
“We must expose this kind of cheating because our tradition and culture hate cheating and hence we will not accept this to happen here,“ he said.
NAN reliably learnt that the person who came second, with a catch of 62kg, would be crowned as the champion.
NAN reports that the car won by Ya’u has been confiscated and parked at the premises of the Emirate Council.
Efforts to speak to either Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in-charge of Argungu or Commissioner of Police in Kebbi State, Alhaji Muktari Ibrahim, on the incident proved abortive. While the DPO refused to comment, the commissioner did not answer telephone calls to him.
More than 30,000 fishermen from within and outside Nigeria participated in the competition.
