The imprisonment of two TikTok celebrities in the northern Nigerian state of Kano for disparaging the governor Abdullahi Ganduje has been denounced by Amnesty International.
Mubarak Muhammad aka Unique Pikin and Nazifi Muhammad, two TikTokers, had entered a guilty plea and requested mercy.
However, the Court mandated that they each receive 20 lashes, pay a fine of 10,000 nairas (£20; £17), and spend 30 days cleaning the courthouse. Additionally, they had to post an official apology to Mr. Ganduje on social media.
Amnesty International said that the teenage TikTok celebrities “must be immediately and unconditionally released” and that the “cruel sentences must be annulled.”
The sentences have been partially completed. They have paid the fine after being publicly spanked on the court grounds.
According to their attorney, they would not challenge the verdict.
An increasing number of social media celebrities in Nigeria are using humor to remark on social and political topics and draw large followers to their profiles.
