ONITSHA, Nigeria (Reuters) - A Nigerian man is being charged for provoking people and “breach of peace” by naming his dog after President Muhammadu Buhari and painting the name twice on the pet, police said on Wednesday.

“The man bought a dog, named it Buhari, wrote Buhari on both sides of the dog and paraded it” in front of people from the north, said Abimbola Oyeyemi, police spokesman in the southern Ogun state where the man lives.

He was arrested after a citizen from the north reported him to police but released by a court on bail until his trial starts, the spokesman said, without naming the man.

“His action is provocative and capable of breaching the peace, as you know the volatility of Nigeria now,” said Oyeyemi.

Nigeria is in the middle of its worst economic crisis in decades as a slump in oil prices boosts unemployment.

Tensions sometimes erupt between northerners, who are Muslims, and people from the predominantly Christian south.

Buhari is a Muslim from the north.