The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned reports that a Magistrate Court in Kano allegedly ordered two popular TikTok content creators, Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda, to formalise their relationship through marriage within 60 days.
In a statement issued by its President, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), the NBA described the development as a grave misunderstanding of judicial authority and a violation of the constitutional rights of the individuals involved.
According to the association, no court in Nigeria has the power to compel any person to marry another, adding that such an order is “unconstitutional and unlawful.”
“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,” the statement read.
The NBA stressed that any attempt by a court to force two persons into marriage breaches the rights to personal liberty, dignity, and privacy as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
It warned that such judicial overreach not only infringes on personal freedoms but also undermines public confidence in the judiciary, which must remain a “bastion of justice and protector of constitutional rights, not an instrument for enforcing social conformity or moral compulsion.”
The association called for an immediate review of the decision allegedly made by Magistrate Halima Wali and urged judicial authorities to prevent a recurrence of such unconstitutional orders.
It further directed the NBA Citizens’ Liberties Committee and the Women’s Forum to monitor the matter to ensure that the rule of law prevails, insisting that “no person should ever be coerced, directly or indirectly, into marriage by any institution of state, including the courts.”
