Nigerian TikTokers are given a lashing sentence for making fun of officials.
After making fun of a government figure on social media, two TikTok stars in Nigeria were given a flogging and ordered to clean the courts.
Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of the northern state of Kano, was defamed, and Mubarak Isa Muhammad and Muhammed Bula were found guilty.
The couple’s attorney stated that they will not appeal the decision.
A increasing number of social media celebrities in Nigeria are using humor to make political and social commentary.
After posting their video to TikTok and Facebook and mocking the governor for alleged land grabbing, corruption, and napping on the job, Muhammad, whose online identity is Unique Pikin, and Bala were detained last week.
The individuals had insulted the governor, according to Wada Ahmed Wada, the prosecutor’s attorney, and their behavior may have disturbed public tranquility.
They admitted their guilt and begged for mercy, but the judge instead sentenced them to 20 lashings apiece, a 10,000 naira ($20) fine, and 30 days of courthouse cleaning. Additionally, they had to post an official apology to Mr. Ganduje on social media.
Given that the verdict was for a “non-custodial” offense, meaning the guilty party would not go to jail, their attorney, Bashir Yusuf, told the BBC that they would not appeal the decision.
In recent years, TikTok users in Nigeria have rapidly increased, especially among young people.
These users occasionally parody public personalities, such as elected leaders, by snipping photographs or videos, frequently to make comedy that draw huge audiences to their accounts.
One of around a dozen jurisdictions in the area that practices the Sharia legal system alongside the nation’s secular laws is Kano State, which is located in northern Nigeria and has a mainly Muslim population. Sharia courts can only hear cases involving Muslims.
