Sulaiman Abubakar (also named "MPEG" in film credits) is 28 years old and has been working in the Hausa film industry in Kano since 2000. He is currently an editor with H2 Concepts, a Kano-based film production outfit, and a music video director, as well as a first-year student at Bayero University, Kano.
On February 12, he was confronted by Kano State police in the studio where he works. After spending the night in jail, his case was settled in the mobile court attached to the Kano State Censorship Board and located at the Kano Airport.
Since the leadership of the Kano State Censorship Board changed hands in August 2007, there have been hundreds of such arrests and settlements at the mobile court presided over by Justice Mukhtar Ahmed. Sulaiman's story, which he told Carmen McCain on February 16, 2009, provides some insight into the workings of the mobile court.
Sulaiman, can you tell me about what happened when you were arrested?
I came back from school on Tuesday and started working with my friend Umar Gombe. While we were working, police came in together with a Hisbah [Shari'a corps volunteer]. The Hisbah didn't have a uniform. They asked us, "Where is your boss?" I said he's coming now.
After my boss arrived, they asked us where our censorship registration papers were. We said the name of our company is H2 Concepts, and we didn't start working here because [when we registered] the company was at Fagge.
We came here because the location is better. They said that one of us must go with them to the police station. Once the papers were brought to the police station, then they would let him go. My boss said I should go with them [while he got the papers]. The police station was at No Man's Land. So, they put me inside the police vehicle and we went to No Man's Land.
So you went because of the company?
Yes, because of the company. They said if we brought the papers, they would let me go.
After driving for a while, we stopped on the side of the road. They asked me for the name of the company. I said H2 Concepts.
Then the Hisbah made a phone call. After 10-15 minutes, he came back and said, "Sulaiman, you're going to spend the night in the police station whether you have the papers or you don't have the papers. Shi ke nan!"
They went ahead and took me to the police station. Soon after we arrived at the police station, the papers were brought. They said, "Here are the papers." But the [police] said they wouldn't let me go until the morning after I went before the judge.
They put me in the jail. I suffered wahala. Mosquitoes were biting me. I was hungry. I didn't have anything to eat. It was hot. Everything was dirty. That's how I passed the night.
In the morning, the DPO called me and said they had court orders. They took me to the court to face the judge. Once I was there, they put me in another cell at the court.
When I went before the judge, he said, "What is your name?" I said "My name is Sulaiman Abubakar." "What did you do?" I said "We registered, etc." Then he asked where my boss was. Habibu came forward, so they let me go and detained my boss.
After they arrested him, they asked him what his crime was-what did he do? He said, ai, it was over the papers. The judge said he should answer guilty to the charges. He said "I won't plead guilty."
The judge said he must plead guilty. Then [Habibu] asked how could he plead guilty since he had all the papers in order. We hadn't done anything.
Then the judge looked, and he said, "Yes, the papers are cleared. They did everything they had to do. It's ok, but he is guilty." So we asked what our crime was. All he said was that we were guilty. They didn't tell us what we did wrong... We didn't know what we did wrong.
Only that we changed location from Fagge to Zoo Road. So the judge gave us a N10,000 court charge. Then we had to give the Censorship Board N5,000. We paid the money. We'll leave them to Allah.
So they couldn't tell you what you had done wrong?
We didn't do anything wrong. They said we hadn't done anything, since our papers were complete.
So why the money?
The judge forced Habibu, my boss. He told him he must answer guilty. Habibu answered that way because he was before the court. The judge, if he wanted, could say that he will sentence him to 10 years. That's how they caught Iyan-Tama and put him in prison.
I saw that they brought a lawyer, but the lawyer didn't talk to the judge?
If MOPPAN [Motion Picture Practitioner's Association of Nigeria] brought their lawyer, then once the judge saw there was a lawyer, he could say they should give me three months, no fine... and you would just have to go. After you suffered wahala, and your parents were suffering- This is why we decided to just leave it and not have the lawyer speak. That's how they were able to fine us.
Could you tell me about the others who were in the cell with you at the jail?
There were three men inside the cell. I was the fourth. One sold [traditional] medicine. The second sold cassettes. They caught him with a cassette of Abuja ta yi kyau, Part 2 [a music video commissioned by an Abuja politician] by Sadiq Zazzabi. The other one, they caught him with Hausa film songs.
Around 12:30 at night, they brought another man who had a TV viewing centre. They went and caught him in a faraway village. He has a wife and 11 kids. A pitifully poor man. He really needs assistance. When we went to the airport court, I saw them. Once they had finished with me, I saw one of the men, the medicine seller, who was told to pay a fine. They said he should pay N30,000. That was the medicine seller. Then the video viewing centre owner, they said he should pay N20,000. And he was such a poor man! He only had N70 in his pocket. He had no money.
Can you tell me exactly what happened when they came to the studio? Did they have ID?
They didn't show us ID, just the guns. Guns and uniforms.
How many police?
There were a lot of them in the car, but they didn't come out from the car. There were two police who came here to the office. One in uniform. One with a gun. Then there was the Hisbah.
The Hisbah was completely in charge of everything. You know Hisbah is not supposed to give police orders, but when they came to catch us, it was the Hisbah. If he said one thing, they would let you go, if he said another, they would lock you up, because the Hisbah was the most powerful among them. He was the one who said they should arrest us.
Could you tell me more of the details of what happened at the police station?
At the police station, my friends brought me a package of mosquito coils but the police took them and only gave me three. They brought me a package of candles, they only gave me two. They brought me biscuits and ... butter; they didn't give me even one; they ate them all up. (Me, I won't forgive them. God will judge them). Then also they gave them N1000 bribe. They took the bribe but didn't give me food.
In the morning, they brought me tea. I was drinking it when a policeman said I should give him the flask. He took it and went away with it.
About the registration of H2 Concepts, I saw the receipt, it said 2008.
We renewed it. We paid a new registration for 2009. Before they arrested me, we paid it. I swear to God. We had a receipt. We had receipts from the bank. We showed the judge all of our papers, limited liability, and everything, from the local government and the state. But they said we should pay N10,000 for Kano State. Court fee. Then N5000 for the censorship board.
Did the arrest affect your work?
I had a lecture at BUK [Bayero University, Kano] in Mass Comm, but I couldn't attend it. I told the [police] that I'm a student, but they said I couldn't go, so I didn't go to school that day. I missed my lecture, and I hadn't done anything.
Sulaiman was released on February 13, 2009, but less than a week later the police were back on Zoo Road, this arresting individual editors. Although they weren't able to find Sulaiman, they arrested three other film practitioners from other studios.
Translated from the Hausa by Carmen McCain.