Kano Magistrate Orders TikTok Creators to Marry Within 60 Days, Sparks Legal Debate
A Magistrate Court in Kano has directed two popular TikTok content creators, Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda, to formalise their relationship through marriage within 60 days.
The order, delivered on Monday by Magistrate Halima Wali, arose from viral videos in which the duo were seen engaging in romantic displays deemed “indecent” by the Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board.
In her ruling, Magistrate Wali instructed the Kano State Hisbah Board to facilitate the marriage process and further mandated the chairman of the Censorship Board to supervise compliance. She warned that failure to conduct the marriage within the stipulated period would amount to contempt of court.
The decision followed the arraignment of the two influencers on allegations of producing and disseminating obscene content online. The videos, which trended widely on TikTok and other platforms, reportedly contained affectionate scenes that the Censorship Board argued contravened Kano State’s censorship laws and offended prevailing moral and religious codes.
Officials of the board maintained that such conduct undermines societal values and sets a dangerous precedent for young people. Mai Wushirya had earlier been remanded in a correctional facility, while Yar Guda was interrogated by enforcement officers before the matter was transferred to court.
The ruling has generated mixed reactions across Kano. Some residents welcomed it as a corrective measure consistent with Islamic values, while others criticised it as an infringement on personal freedoms and an overreach of judicial authority.
Aliyu Salisu, a resident of Kofar Nassarawa, described the decision as “wise,” arguing that it would discourage public indecency. Conversely, Zainab Ahmed of Hotoro faulted the ruling, insisting that morality cannot be enforced through compulsion and that the state should not dictate private choices under the guise of regulation.
Neither Mai Wushirya nor Yar Guda has publicly commented on the court’s directive as at press time.
The case has reignited broader debates on the limits of state regulation of social behaviour, the role of morality in law, and the constitutional balance between public order and individual freedoms in northern Nigeria.
