NBA Tackles Kano Court For Ordering Two TikTokers To Marry Within 60 Days

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has criticized a ruling by a Kano Magistrate Court that ordered two TikTok creators to marry each other within 60 days.

The controversy began after the Kano State Censorship Board arrested Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda over viral videos the board described as “immoral” and “indecent.”

The videos reportedly showed Wushirya, shirtless, expressing affection toward Yar Guda, which the board claimed violated state laws against obscene or sexually suggestive behavior.

In her ruling on Monday, Magistrate Halima Wali instructed the Hisbah Board to oversee their marriage and warned that failing to do so within the 60-day period would amount to contempt of court.

Reacting to the decision in a statement released Tuesday, NBA President Afam Osigwe condemned the ruling, calling it unconstitutional and an abuse of judicial power.

Osigwe stressed that marriage is a voluntary act between consenting adults and cannot be enforced by any court or state authority.

The statement reads, “No court can compel two persons to marry. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) notes with serious concern reports of a Margistrate court in Kano allegedly ordering two popular TikTok content creators, Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda, to formalise their relationship through marriage within 60 days following a case arising from the publication of an indecent video.

“This development, reflects a grave misunderstanding of the limits of judicial authority under the Nigerian Constitution and constitutes an affront to the fundamental rights of the individuals concerned. No court has the power to compel any person to marry another persons or two persons to mandatorily marry.”

Osigwe described the decision as judicial overreach that infringes on the rights to personal liberty, dignity, and privacy guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.

The NBA called for an immediate review of Magistrate Wali’s decision and urged the judiciary to ensure such rulings do not happen again, warning that they damage public trust in the courts.

The association directed its Citizens’ Liberties Committee and Women’s Forum to monitor the situation and ensure that the rule of law is upheld.

“It is indeed unconstitutional and therefore unlawful for any court to purport to have power to make such an order. Marriage, by its very nature, is a voluntary union between consenting adults. It cannot, under any circumstance, be imposed as a form of punishment, moral correction, or judicial remedy.

“No court in Nigeria possesses the constitutional authority to compel two persons to marry, and any attempt to do so violates the rights to personal liberty, dignity of the human person, and privacy as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

“The NBA stresses that such judicial overreach not only infringes on personal freedoms but also undermines public confidence in the judiciary.

“The courts must remain the bastion of justice and protectors of constitutional rights, not instruments for enforcing social conformity or moral compulsion.

“We therefore call for an immediate review of this decision by Magistrate Halima Wali and urge the relevant judicial authorities to take steps to prevent a recurrence of such unconstitutional orders.

“The NBA Citizens’ Liberties Committee and Women’s Forum are hereby directed to monitor the situation to ensure that the rule of law prevails.

“No person should ever be coerced, directly or indirectly, into marriage by any institution of state, including the courts,” the NBA concluded.

KanyiDaily recalls that another Kano court had ordered the remand of a TikToker, Umar Hisham Fagge, popularly known as Tsulange, for bathing in public while dressed in women’s underwear.