Court sends Kano musician to prison over song

A court in the city of Kano has remanded singer Sadiq Zazzabi over his latest released song.

Zazzabi was recently arraigned before the censorship court in Kano for allegedly violating the censorship laws of the state. The censorship board requires that songs or movies should be cleared before a screening board before they are released to the general public.

According to the report by Premium Times, Sadiq Zazzabi released the song before the screening board approved it for release.

The embattled singer however told the news site that his issue with the censors board has political undertones. He claimed he is being targeted because he is a supporter of former Gov.Rabiu Kwankwaso. The Kano state government has however denied these allegations according to Premium Times.

Sadiq Zazzabi will be in jail till Friday, March 3, 2017. "The sitting took place today and Sadiq was asked to be remanded in prison until Friday when the court will resume hearing on the case" the chairman Kano state censors board, Ismaila Afakallahu told the news website.

He also stated that this issue is not a political one. "Yes he actually brought the song for censorship and before we can grant him a certificate of approval, he went ahead to launch the song. For doing that he has faulted the censors’ board rule and we are charging him for that. Censoring a movie or song can take up to three weeks or more depending on the complexity of the song or film."