Nigerian anti-polio chief removed

Some Islamic clerics organised an immunisation boycott in 2003

The chief of a village in northern Nigeria has been suspended from office for divorcing his wife because she had her children immunised against polio.

Buluma Ali has been ordered to re-unite with his wife or face "dethronement".

The head of Maisandari district said a traditional ruler was supposed to educate subjects on the importance of getting children immunised.

In 2003, some Nigerian Islamic leaders said the immunisations were part of a Western plot to make Muslims infertile.

They brought a halt to the vaccination campaign in the north of the country for a year, during which the number of new cases exploded.

"[Mr Ali] still believes that polio vaccine can render children infertile," Borno State spokesman Usman Ciroma told AFP news agency.

According to the UN World Health Organization, Nigeria is the only country in Africa and one of the four worldwide where polio is still endemic.