The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has expressed serious concern over reports that a Magistrate Court in Kano allegedly ordered two TikTok content creators, Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda, to marry within 60 days following a case related to an indecent video they posted online.
In a statement signed by its President, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), the NBA described the alleged order as a gross violation of constitutional rights and a misinterpretation of judicial powers under Nigerian law.
The association emphasized that no court in Nigeria has the authority to compel two people to marry, stressing that such an order is unconstitutional, unlawful, and an infringement on the fundamental rights to liberty, dignity, and privacy as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“Marriage is a voluntary union between consenting adults and cannot, under any circumstance, be imposed as a form of punishment or judicial remedy,” the statement read.
The NBA warned that judicial overreach of this kind could undermine public confidence in the judiciary, urging that courts must serve as protectors of justice and constitutional freedoms, not as instruments of social or moral enforcement.
The association therefore called for an immediate review of the ruling allegedly issued by Magistrate Halima Wali and directed its Citizens’ Liberties Committee and Women’s Forum to monitor the case to ensure the rule of law is upheld.
“No person should ever be coerced, directly or indirectly, into marriage by any institution of the state, including the courts,” the statement concluded.
