Topics: TikTok, World News, News, Social Media
Two Nigerian social media stars have been sentenced to a lashing after they mocked a government official.
Mubarak Muhammed and Nazifi Muhammad were accused of making fun of Kano state governor Abdullahi Ganduje and suggested he was corrupt.
The pair claimed: "The man Ganduje is not trusted by the people of Kano and is someone he can use eye to see any parcel of land he will sell."
The pair added that: "He is a husband to an influential woman and a father to an Arabian. And he is also from Kano State. The qualities of this Ganduje are as follows: He is a governor that loves to sleep."
Essentially, the duo accused Ganduje of being lazy and corrupt... and it did not go down well.
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The comedy duo was arrested last week after they posted the video to both TikTok and Facebook.
According to Opinion Nigeria, the two men pleaded guilty to the two counts of defamation and inciting public disturbance on November 4.
Magistrate Aminu Gabari ruled that the two men would therefore receive 20 public lashings each as part of their punishment for mocking a government official.
Gabari also ruled that the duo will be made to sweep and wash the toilets of the Kano Magistrates Court for 30 days, which are 'located at no-man’s-land area of Kano metropolis'.
The two men also copped fines of N$10,000 (USD$25, $AUD39, £22) each for defaming the character of the Governor.
The duo has also been order to publicly apologise to Ganduje on social media.
The lawyer representing the TikTok stars said they will not challenge the ruling.
As per the BBC, the magistrate hoped the sentence would 'serve as a deterrent to other social media users' and demonstrate that they need 'to be careful and respectful of elders'.
Barrister Isah Jamil told the BBC that while 'freedom of expression is for everybody', the law does not allow for defamation.
"That’s what the laws of the country say but at the same time the law doesn’t allow you to call someone names and abuse their character," Jamil told the BBC.
"That person has the right to seek redress in a court of law over what happened so this is not a freedom of expression issue."
The British broadcaster said TikTok is becoming very popular in Nigeria, and mocking public figures has become a popular source of content for users.
