A magistrate court in Kano has ordered the remand of Ashiru Idris, the TikToker better known as Mai Wushirya, at a correctional centre for allegedly posting indecent videos involving a dwarf woman.
Halima Wali, the presiding judge, on Monday directed that the social media influencer be held in custody for two weeks pending further hearing.
Last week, officials of the Kano State Censorship Board arrested Mai Wushirya after videos showing him shirtless and engaging in immoral and demeaning acts went viral online.
The board argued that the clips violated the state’s laws prohibiting the production, posting, or circulation of obscene or sexually suggestive content.
Speaking after the court session, Abdullahi Sani Sulaiman, spokesperson of the censorship board, confirmed that the court also ordered the appearance of the woman featured in the video.
The court has also ordered his partner to appear in court before the hearing continues. Even before we arraigned him, we tried to get him to cooperate with us to locate her, but he refused, he said.
However, now that the court has ordered it, I’m sure we will be successful in bringing her.
Sulaiman disclosed that preliminary investigations suggest the woman may have fled to Zamfara, but efforts are underway to track her down and bring her back to Kano for trial alongside the TikToker.
The next hearing is expected to be held after the two-week remand period, he added.
The Kano state government has in recent months intensified its crackdown on social media content creators accused of promoting immorality or breaching censorship regulations.
Several TikTokers, skit makers, and musicians have been arrested or sanctioned for producing or sharing content deemed offensive.
