Nigerian man had 107 wives, 185 children

An 87-year-old Nigerian man has had 107 wives, says the Los Angeles Times, and 185 children.

Bello Maasaba, an Islamic faith healer, is presently married to 86 women between the ages of 19 and 64, after nine of his wives died and he divorced 12 for disobedience, the paper reports. 

Of Maasaba's children, 133 are still living, the youngest being one month old. His extended family numbers 5,000 many of whom live in the sprawling compound in the block surrounding his four-story, 89-room house in Bida, the Times reports.

He communicates with his wives and children via a microphone hooked up to speakers on every floor of the house. Feeding his family requires three huge sacks of rice a day and large quantities of meat and vegetables.

Three years ago, Islamic authorities in Niger, a Muslim majority state with Sharia law, ordered that Maasaba divorce 82 of his wives, keeping four. He refused and was imprisoned for 22 days and ordered by the Sharia court to leave town.

Lawyers interviewed the wives and after the first 57 reportedly said they had agreed to their marriages, he was freed.