Before rooster crows, some neighbours will be celebrating

This is no April 1 Fool's Day stunt, but it may well have been.

A Naija man recently bought a rooster in preparation for the Easter festivities with his family. But the rooster, perhaps sensing his days on earth were limited, decided to crow at his full lungs occasioning two neighbours to sue for noise pollution.

It's not clear what was the frequency of the crows were, or even the distance that separates the homes, but the judge, who allowed the owner not to keep the rooster longer than today, reportedly cautioned against the owner letting the rooster manga manga around the compound as though it had no worry on its head. After all, his days are numbered.

This judge's ruling, however, raises more questions than answers: First off, the judge did not specify that neighbours should be invited to the feast as a way of good neighbourliness. The neighbours could also affirm that the rooster had been killed.

Secondly, the judge should have issued direct orders bequeathing the two neighbours some rooster's body parts, if only as a gesture that the neighbours can come together and decide on matters that affect them, without resorting to external arbiters.

By the same token, it's affirming that the neighbours in question did not take law into their own hands and only opted to seek direction from the courts.

The lingering question is why the man, if a practicing Christian, opted to eat meat over the sacred Easter season, when devout Christians avoid such indulgence.