The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has reacted to the ruling of a Magistrate Court in Kano State, which ordered TikTokers Ashiru “Mai Wushirya” Idris and Basira Yar-guda to marry each other.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Magistrate Halima Wali directed the Kano State Censorship Board to facilitate the wedding between the two content creators within sixty days.
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Magistrate Wali further instructed the Chairman of the Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board to oversee the implementation of the marriage order.
The magistrate warned that failure to conduct the wedding within the stipulated period would amount to contempt of court.
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The directive came after Mai Wushirya’s arrest, arraignment, and remand over a TikTok video showing him displaying affectionate behaviour towards Yar-guda.
Reacting to the ruling, the NBA condemned it in a statement signed by its President, Mazi Osigwe, and posted on its X page on Tuesday.
Enter NBA
NBA further stated that the Magistrate Court lacked the authority to compel two individuals to marry.
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The statement partly read: “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 can compel any person to marry another or two persons mandatorily. It is indeed unconstitutional and therefore unlawful for any court to purport to have the 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).”
Public confidence
Additionally, the NBA stated that the magistrate’s ruling could erode public confidence in the judiciary.
The association further emphasised that no individual should ever be coerced directly or indirectly into marriage by any state institution, including the courts.
The NBA called for the ruling to be reviewed, maintaining that such decisions set a troubling precedent.
“The NBA stresses that such judicial overreach infringes on personal freedoms but 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”, the NBA added.
Backstory
The board had earlier, in a statement its spokesperson Abdullahi Sulaiman posted on his Facebook page on 6 October, said the video of the TikTokers violated state laws that prohibit the production or circulation of obscene and sexually suggestive material.
Mr Sulaiman described the videos, which featured the duo engaging in romantic gestures, as being contrary to the moral and religious values upheld in the state.
In recent months, this newspaper reported that the board has intensified its crackdown on social media content creators accused of promoting immorality or breaching censorship regulations.
The crackdown has led to the arrest and sanction of some TikTokers and skit makers for producing or sharing offensive content.
In February 2024, the newspaper reported that popular and controversial TikToker Murja Kunya was arrested for allegedly posting inappropriate and un-Islamic content on TikTok.
Her arrest followed a search launched by the board for six TikTok influencers accused of violating Islamic principles through their daily social media activities.
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