Kano court orders TikTokers marriage for indecent videos
A magistrate court in Kano State has issued a controversial order requiring two social-media influencers to get married within 60 days following the circulation of videos deemed “indecent.” The court, presided over by Halima Wali, directed the Kano State Hisbah Board to facilitate the wedding of popular TikTok creators Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda within the stipulated timeframe.
The order comes after the Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board flagged videos in which the duo appeared engaging in affectionate gestures and other behavior the board considered incompatible with the state’s moral and religious standards. The Censorship Board described the content as violating laws that prohibit distribution of sexually suggestive or “obscene” materials.
Magistrate Wali warned that failure to carry out the marriage within the 60-day window would be treated as contempt of court. The court also tasked the Chairman of the Censorship Board to oversee the marriage process.
The case has provoked significant debate. Some supporters argue the decision underscores the state government’s commitment to enforcing what it sees as moral conduct in social media and public content. Others, including legal and human rights observers, argue that compelling adults to marry as a form of sanction raises serious questions about personal autonomy, human rights, and the rule of law. A Kano-based rights lawyer described the ruling as “deeply problematic and legally unsustainable.”
Critics also point out that the ruling may set a broader precedent: that deviations from moral norms, as defined by state boards, could trigger drastic personal consequences instead of due process or remedy through conventional sanctioning. Supporters of content regulation in Kano point to long-standing enforcement under sharia-based morality laws that give bodies like the Hisbah Board wide powers in policing public morality.
Meanwhile, both influencers remain under court supervision. Mai Wushirya had previously been remanded in a correctional facility after the viral clips emerged.
The broader implications of this ruling are likely to be scrutinized by rights groups, social media influencers, and cultural commentators. It places new emphasis on the intersection of digital content creation, morality regulation and state power in Nigeria’s northern states.
