TikTok stars sentenced to receive 20 canes each, sweep court, after being found guilty
A magistrate’s court in the northern Nigerian city of Kano has ordered two TikTok stars to be whipped and made to sweep the court premises for a month.
They were found guilty on Monday of defaming Kano state governor Abdullahi Ganduje in a comedy video they recorded and shared on TikTok and Facebook.
A skit by Mubarak Isa Muhammad, alias Unique Pikin, and Nazifi Muhammad Bala accused the governor of land grabbing, corruption and dozing off during public meetings.
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Prosecution lawyer Wada Ahmed Wada said the young men had defamed the governor and that their action was capable of disturbing public peace.
The social media comedians pleaded guilty and asked for leniency.
Along with the 30 days of cleaning, the judge also ordered both to be given 20 lashes and pay a fine of 10,000 naira ($23;£20) each.
They were also ordered to publicly apologise to the state governor on social media.
Their lawyer, Bashir Yusuf, told the BBC they would not challenge the judgement given that they were not given a jail sentence.
In Nigeria, there have been growing numbers of young social media stars who use comedy to comment on social and political issues.
They sometimes mock public figures attracting massive followers to their accounts.
Source: BBC
