{"id":95552,"date":"2025-10-21T19:31:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=95552"},"modified":"2025-10-21T19:31:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:31:19","slug":"kano-marriage-drama-nba-says-it-is-unconstitutional-for-a-court-to-order-tiktok-duo-to-marry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=95552","title":{"rendered":"Kano marriage drama: NBA says it is unconstitutional for a court to order TikTok duo to marry"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a move that left not a few mouths agape and sent shockwaves through Nigeria\u2019s legal and digital landscapes, a Magistrate Court in Kano ignited fierce controversy by ordering two popular TikTok content creators, Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda, to marry each other within 60 days\u2014or risk being held in contempt of court.<\/p>\n

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Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the ruling has not gone unchallenged.<\/p>\n

In a swift and scathing response, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) issued a formal statement condemning the order as an unconstitutional abuse of power. The NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, minced no words:<\/p>\n

\u201cNo court has the power to compel any person to marry another. It is unconstitutional and therefore unlawful\u2026 Marriage cannot, under any circumstance, be imposed as a form of punishment, moral correction, or judicial remedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that this judicial overreach amounts to a violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution, including the right to personal liberty, privacy, and the dignity of the human person.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch orders trample on individual freedoms and erode public trust in the judiciary. Courts must be defenders of justice\u2014not instruments of forced morality,\u201d Osigwe emphasized.<\/p>\n

In response to this unprecedented case, the NBA has directed its Citizens\u2019 Liberties Committee and Women\u2019s Forum to monitor developments closely, ensuring that the rule of law prevails and no individual is coerced into marriage under any guise.<\/p>\n

The ruling, handed down on Monday by Magistrate Halima Wali, has been widely described as bizarre, unconstitutional, and a troubling overstep of judicial authority. The decision followed a case sparked by viral videos of the duo engaging in public displays of affection\u2014content deemed \u201cindecent\u201d by the Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board.<\/p>\n

According to the court, the \u201csolution\u201d to this perceived moral transgression? Marriage. Under judicial compulsion. Within two months. Or else.<\/p>\n

To facilitate this unprecedented order, Magistrate Wali reportedly tasked the Kano State Hisbah Board with overseeing the \u201cmarriage process\u201d and ordered the chairman of the Censorship Board to supervise the execution of the ruling. Failure to wed within the deadline, she warned, would constitute contempt of court.<\/p>\n

The Viral Romance\u2014or Moral Panic?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The saga began when a series of TikTok videos featuring romantic interactions between Mai Wushirya and Yar Guda began circulating online. The Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board, deeming the content sexually suggestive and in violation of the state\u2019s moral code, swiftly moved to investigate.<\/p>\n

Officials claimed the skits promoted \u201cimmoral behaviour\u201d, leading to the arrest and remand of Mai Wushirya in a correctional facility. Yar Guda was also interrogated before the matter landed in court. And then, came the thunderbolt: a ruling that effectively turned a content-creation controversy into a forced matrimonial arrangement.<\/p>\n

Public Reaction: A House Divided<\/strong><\/p>\n

Across Kano, reactions have been sharply divided. For some, particularly conservative voices, the court\u2019s decision aligns with the state\u2019s religious and cultural values.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they have gone this far publicly, it is only right they are joined in marriage,\u201d said Aliyu Salisu, a resident of Kofar Nassarawa.<\/p>\n

But for others, the ruling is nothing short of a dangerous precedent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government can caution them or penalise them, but forcing marriage is not the solution,\u201d argued Zainab Ahmed of Hotoro. \u201cMorality should not come through compulsion.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of the time of writing, neither Mai Wushirya nor Yar Guda has made any public comment.<\/p>\n

A Bigger Battle Over Freedom and Control<\/strong><\/p>\n

This case has opened a wider conversation about the limits of state power, the freedom of expression, and the interplay of culture, religion, and constitutional rights in Northern Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Is this a righteous stand for public morality\u2014or a judicial descent into authoritarian control?<\/p>\n

Whatever one believes, the Kano ruling has made one thing clear: the battle for Nigeria\u2019s digital and constitutional soul is far from over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a move that left not a few mouths agape and sent shockwaves through Nigeria\u2019s legal and digital landscapes, a Magistrate Court in Kano ignited fierce controversy by ordering two popular TikTok content creators, Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda, to marry each other within 60 days\u2014or risk being held in contempt of court. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":95554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5775,7],"tags":[3727,90,627],"class_list":["post-95552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-news","tag-drama","tag-kano","tag-marriage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}