A Nigerian trade in insects that bite

Looking at the middle-aged man in a grey robe ruffled by the breeze, one hand raised in greeting, you would never guess what is in the old black shopping bag dangling from his other hand. Ambling across the courtyard of the grandest mosque in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, he stops to greet a group of men who are sitting on benches under a tree. Their response is familiar and warm. He reaches into his bag, brings out a small box and coaxes a black scorpion into the daylight, perching it on his hand. The men are fearful and fascinated, but keep their distance.