Kano Court Sentences TikToker to One Year in Prison
A magistrate court in Kano has sentenced popular TikTok content creator, Abubakar Usman Kilina, to one year in prison over a video deemed to promote indecency and violate public morals.
Presiding over the case at Magistrate Court No. 21, Magistrate Hadiza Muhammad Hassan also gave Kilina the option of paying a ₦100,000 fine in lieu of imprisonment. In addition, the court ordered him to pay ₦30,000 as compensation to the Kano State Film Censorship Board for what was described as “wasting the agency’s time.”
According to reports by Freedom Radio, Kilina was found guilty of producing and sharing a video on TikTok that featured cross-dressers and used offensive language. The video sparked a complaint from the Kano State Film Censorship Board, which subsequently filed the case against him.
In her ruling, Magistrate Hadiza condemned the content as promoting behavior contrary to societal norms and warned Kilina against repeating similar actions in the future. She noted that any further violations would result in stricter punishment without the option of a fine.
The verdict comes amid heightened scrutiny by Kano State authorities on social media content and public behavior, especially concerning issues of morality and cultural values.
