By Desire Emmanuel
The Nigerian Bar Association on Tuesday, October 21, kicked against an order of a magistrates’s court which reportedly compelled a male and a female TikTok content creators to get married within 60 days.
President of the NBA, Mr Afam Osigwe, SAN, gave the position of the association in a statement posted on its verified X handle, saying no court can compel two adults to get married.
The were reports in the media which indicated that a magistrates’ 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 following a case arising from the publication of an indecent video.
The NBA said the reported court order 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,” the NBA disclosed.
The association added that marriage, by its very nature, is a voluntary union between consenting adults, saying that 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),” it stated.
“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,” the NBA said.
