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, following allegations that they shared videos deemed “indecent” and “immoral” on social media.
The ruling, delivered on Monday by Magistrate Halima Wali, came after the Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board accused the duo of posting romantic skits that violated the state’s moral and religious standards.
Magistrate Wali ordered the Kano State Hisbah Board to oversee the marriage process and ensure full compliance with the court’s directive. She also warned that any failure to conduct the marriage within the stipulated period would amount to contempt of court.
She further instructed the chairman of the Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board to supervise the implementation of the marriage order.
The judgment followed the pair’s arraignment on charges of producing and circulating “obscene” videos that trended widely on TikTok and other platforms. The clips reportedly featured affectionate scenes between Mai Wushirya and Yar Guda, which the Censorship Board said contravened Kano’s laws regulating public morality and film production.
Officials of the board insisted the videos breached the moral and cultural codes upheld by the state.
“Such behaviour undermines the values we stand for and sets a dangerous example for the youth,” an official of the board said.
Following his arrest, Mai Wushirya was remanded in a correctional centre after investigators accused him of promoting immoral behaviour through his comedy skits, while Yar Guda was interrogated by enforcement officers before the case was brought to court.
The court’s decision has sparked heated debate among Kano residents and across social media. Supporters described the order as a moral corrective consistent with Islamic values, while critics condemned it as a violation of personal rights and judicial overreach.
Neither Mai Wushirya nor Yar Guda has publicly commented on the ruling as of press time.
The case has reignited long-standing arguments about the limits of state control over personal expression, and whether moral enforcement should extend to social media content creation in northern Nigeria.
