Lady, 18, sentenced to 12 strokes of cane, 2 years in jail or ₦50k fine for complaining about insecurity

An 18-year-old Nigerian lady, Hamdiyya Sidi Shariff, has been sentenced to 12 strokes of the cane, two years imprisonment, or a fine of ₦50,000 for expressing concerns about insecurity in Sokoto State.

The incident, now trending on X (formerly Twitter), revealed that Shariff was arrested in November 2024 after sharing videos online lamenting the rising insecurity in her region.

She had recounted how bandits freely attacked communities, displacing residents and subjecting vulnerable women to sexual exploitation.

Before her release, authorities accused her of inciting the public and using abusive language against Governor Ahmed Aliyu in a TikTok video.

However, translated transcripts of her seven videos presented in court showed no attempt to incite violence or insult the governor.

Shariff was reportedly abducted by armed men while retrieving her phone, beaten, and thrown from a moving tricycle, leaving her seriously injured.

She was later detained and charged before both Sharia and Magistrates’ Courts.

Her case drew the attention of Amnesty International, which condemned the threats to both Shariff and her lawyer, Abba Hikima.

The organization described the intimidation and stalking they faced during trial as an abuse of power aimed at silencing dissent.

Amnesty urged authorities to focus on tackling insecurity in eastern Sokoto, where killings, kidnappings, and destruction of villages have become frequent, rather than punishing those who speak out.

At a hearing in February 2025, the Police Prosecutor submitted translated videos and a flash drive as evidence.

However, it was disclosed during cross-examination that her statement was taken without legal representation. Despite this, the court upheld her bail conditions until her sentencing.

See video that caused her arrest below…