NBA Condemns Kano Court’s Directive That TikTokers Marry Within 60 Days as ‘Unconstitutional’

The NBA has condemned a Kano court’s order forcing TikTokers Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda to marry, calling it unconstitutional and unlawful.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has strongly condemned an order by a magistrate’s court in Kano State that instructed social media influencers Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda to marry each other within 60 days.

The controversial case stems from a viral TikTok video featuring affectionate scenes between the duo, which the Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board described as violating public morality and religious codes.

Presiding Magistrate Halima Wali issued the marriage directive during proceedings over charges of producing and distributing “obscene” content, prompting backlash from legal experts.

NBA President Afam Osigwe termed the order a “grave misunderstanding of the limits of judicial authority” under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He emphasized that marriage is a voluntary union of consenting adults, not a judicial solution or moral compulsion.

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“No court in Nigeria possesses the constitutional authority to compel two persons to marry … any attempt to do so violates the rights to personal liberty, dignity of the human person, and privacy,” Osigwe said, adding that the judiciary must protect constitutional rights rather than enforce conformity.

The NBA has urged an immediate review of the order and tasked its Citizens’ Liberties Committee and Women’s Forum with monitoring the case to safeguard the rule of law and individual freedoms.