By SCM Correspondent
KANO, NIGERIA —Hisbah, the hardline Islamic police have outlawed downloading and distributing movies on mobile phones in a sweeping new crackdown on “immoral” media.
The Kano State Hisbah Board—the state’s feared religious police force—declared that the ban is active across all 44 local government areas of the northern Nigerian state.
Under strict Sharia laws, anyone caught running a digital file-transfer business or sharing unapproved videos face immediate arrest and prosecution.
The shock ruling targets Kano’s popular street-corner “downloading shops.” In a region where high-speed internet is a luxury, millions of young people rely on local vendors who charge small fees to transfer films, music videos, and social media clips directly onto their mobile phones via memory cards and Bluetooth.
But authorities say the digital trade has become a breeding ground for sin.
In a voice message sent to journalists, the Acting Commander General of the Hisbah Board, Mujahid Aminuddeen, warned that the digital crackdown is a direct effort to protect young people.
”Our findings show that this business contributes to the spread of films and videos that contain content contrary to religion, our culture, and good morals,” Aminuddeen said. “That is why we have decided to stop the business to protect young people from moral decay and reduce the circulation of harmful content.”
He warned operators to shut down their computers and close their shops immediately, adding: “Anyone caught violating the ban will face the full weight of the law.”
Background: The Rise of Hisbah and Kano’s Sharia Rules
Kano is the cultural heart of northern Nigeria’s Hausa-Muslim population. In 2000, the state reintroduced a strict interpretation of Sharia law alongside secular constitutional law.
To enforce these religious codes, the state established the Hisbah Board—a massive force of moral police tasked with “commanding good and forbidding evil.”
The Hisbah does not answer to Nigeria’s federal police. Instead, they patrol the streets of Kano enforcing laws that often shock the Western world.
Over the years, the Hisbah has made global headlines for:
Smashed Bottles: Publicly destroying millions of bottles of beer, as alcohol is strictly forbidden under Sharia law.
Banned Haircuts: Shaving the heads of young men caught sporting “un-Islamic” Western hairstyles, such as fades or mohawks.
Mannequin Decapitations: Ordering shopkeepers to decapitate clothing mannequins, claiming that fully-featured human forms promote idolatry.
Tight Clothing Crackdowns: Arresting individuals for wearing clothes deemed too revealing.
The movie industry has also long been in the crosshairs. Kano is the birthplace of Kannywood—the Hausa-language film industry. For decades, Kannywood filmmakers have fought running battles with state censors who insist that movies must not show men and women holding hands, dancing together, or singing “provocative” songs.
This mobile phone ban marks a major shift in the digital landscape. In Nigeria, mobile phones are the primary window to the outside world. By targeting the grassroots distribution of media, the Hisbah is attempting to build a digital firewall around the state’s youth.
Tech experts warn the ban will hit micro-businesses hard, destroying the livelihoods of thousands of young entrepreneurs who rely on movie downloading to make a living.
With the Hisbah warning of imminent raids, Kano’s digital black market is bracing for a tense standoff as the Sharia police take their fight from the streets straight to the smartphone screen.