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A TikTok user, Khadija Muhammad Yar Lele, has been remanded in a correctional facility in Kano over alleged defamation and insulting a politician.

Khadija was arraigned before the Upper Sharia Court sitting at Post Office Kano municipal  presided over by Justice Garba Malafa, where the police filed a charge against her over the alleged offences.

When the charges were read to her, the defendant pleaded not guilty of all charges.

The prosecutor, Barrister Awaisu Sani Lawan, urged the court to adjourn the case to enable the prosecution to present its witnesses at next sitting.

After hearing both sides, the court ordered that Khadija be remanded in a correctional facility and adjourned the case until October 14, 2026, for her re-arraignment and continuation of proceedings.

The defendant was earlier accused of posting a video on her TikTok account in which she allegedly made insulting remarks against the complainant, identified as MD Hassan, a politician in Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State.

In the video, she was allegedly heard referring to the politician as a “prostitute’s son”, a statement that led to her arraignment before the court.

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American rapper Nicki Minaj has followed Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi on X, shortly after reposting his statement on the reported killings and abductions in Niger State.

A check on the platform showed that Obi is the only 2027 presidential candidate followed by the rapper on X.

Minaj’s action came shortly after she reposted a statement shared by Obi on Wednesday, in which the former Anambra State governor condemned the reported killings and abductions in Niger State, describing the situation as a systematic devaluation of human life.

Obi also called for intelligence-led action against the criminal networks responsible for attacks and abductions across the country, stressing the need for stronger measures to protect communities and citizens.

The rapper’s repost attracted reactions from Nigerians and other social media users in Nigeria and the diaspora, with some praising her for amplifying concerns about the country’s security situation and calls for justice and protection for affected communities.

Minaj’s decision to follow Obi has also drawn attention online, particularly because of the reported list of political figures she follows on the platform.

The development comes amid growing attention to the 2027 presidential race and renewed discussions on insecurity in Nigeria.

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The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has announced that members can now decide whether to accept or donate the four main components of blood based on their personal conscience.

The organisation made this known in a statement issued by its World Headquarters in Warwick, New York and made available on its website on Friday.

According to the statement, “the decision to accept red cells, white cells, plasma or platelets from another person’s blood is a matter of personal conscience.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses announce adjustment to blood transfusion policy
It added that “each Witness must decide whether or not to donate blood for the clearly expressed purpose of providing components or fractions for use by another person.”

However, the organisation said its position on whole-blood transfusion had not changed.

“The long-standing refusal of whole-blood transfusions on religious grounds, a core teaching based on the command to ‘abstain from blood’ (Acts 15:20), is unchanged,” the statement said.

International spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses at the organisation’s World Headquarters, Paul Gillies, said, “Blood remains sacred to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who continue to regard life and blood as precious gifts from God.

“We recognise that medical decisions involving blood components are a matter of conscience between each Witness and their God, Jehovah.”

The organisation said the adjustment “follows earlier updates regarding blood fractions and the use of one’s own blood during medical procedures.”

It added, “Since the Bible does not comment on such decisions, they are a matter of individual conscience. That same reasoning has now been extended to the four main components of blood.”

On medical care, the statement said, “Jehovah’s Witnesses love life and want the best available medical care. They do not practise faith healing, and they seek out doctors who can provide effective treatment in accord with their wishes, values and beliefs.”

Gillies said local congregations would not interfere in members’ personal decisions.

“Congregations do not involve themselves in personal decisions that rest with the individual conscience. We will continue to respect and support the personal decisions of our fellow believers.

“We are grateful, too, for the many skilled and compassionate physicians who provide quality medical care that respects our personal wishes regarding blood,” he said.

The organisation said Jehovah’s Witnesses number “over nine million worldwide, in congregations across more than 200 lands.”

Recall that the religious group had clarified its position on the use of a member’s own blood during surgery and other medical procedures.

The clarification allowed individual Witnesses to decide whether their blood could be removed, stored and returned to them during medical treatment, while the organisation maintained its position against receiving blood from another person.

Punch