NO COURT CAN COMPEL TWO PERSONS TO MARRY
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) @NigBarAssoc notes with serious concern reports of a Margistrate court in Kano allegedly ordering two popular TikTok content creators, Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda, to formalise their relationship through marriage within 60 days following a case arising from the publication of an indecent video.
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 has the power to compel any person to marry another persons or two persons to mandatorily marry. It is indeed unconstitutional and therefore unlawful for any court to purport to have 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).
The NBA stresses that such judicial overreach not only infringes on personal freedoms but also 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.
No person should ever be coerced, directly or indirectly, into marriage by any institution of state, including the courts.
Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN
President, Nigerian Bar Association
THE ORIGINAL CASE
A Magistrate Court sitting in Kano directed the Kano State Hisbah Board to facilitate the marriage of two popular TikTok content creators, Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda, within 60 days.
The order followed their recent appearance in viral videos deemed “indecent” by the Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board.
The clips, which showed the duo engaging in romantic gestures, were described by authorities as contrary to the moral and religious values upheld in the state.
Presiding over the matter on Monday, Magistrate Halima Wali warned that failure to conduct the marriage within the stipulated timeframe would be treated as contempt of court.
The court also mandated the Chairman of the Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board to oversee the implementation of the marriage order.
Both TikTokers were arraigned before the court in recent weeks for allegedly producing and circulating obscene content on social media.
Mai Wushirya was earlier remanded in a correctional facility after clips showing him engaging in what authorities described as “immoral and demeaning acts” with the female content creator went viral.
The Censorship Board maintained that the videos violated state laws prohibiting the production and distribution of sexually suggestive or obs
cene material.
