Nigeria’s Sharia-enforcing police (Hisbah) in the northern city of Kano have cancelled the court-ordered wedding of two TikTok celebrities after the groom confessed he had lied to the court to avoid prosecution.
A magistrate court had previously instructed Hisbah to solemnise a marriage between the two TikTokers, Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda, within 60 days. The order was issued after videos of the couple cuddling and kissing went viral, drawing outrage from Kano residents and leading the court to deem the content “indecent.”
However, the wedding plans collapsed when Mai Wushirya reversed his testimony.
Hisbah Director-General Abba Sufi told AFP on Sunday that the groom admitted he was not in love with Yar Guda. “Mai Wushirya told us that he lied to the court that he and Yar Guda were in love to evade prosecution,” Sufi explained.
“With this development, we have cancelled the wedding and have resolved to refer the matter to the judge who gave the order for appropriate action,” Sufi confirmed.
The cancellation came after significant preparations had already been made. Mai Wushirya’s parents had given Hisbah their “explicit consent” for the marriage. The Kano State Government had also reportedly agreed to purchase a house for the couple, which had been a condition set by the bride.
Kano is one of a dozen predominantly Muslim states in Nigeria where Sharia law operates alongside common law.
The court’s initial directive to force the marriage drew widespread condemnation. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) slammed the order as “an affront to the fundamental rights of the individuals concerned.”
“No court has the power to compel any person to marry another person or two persons to mandatorily marry,” NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe said in a statement.
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