Court Rejects Motion to Drop Murder Charges against Kano Child Bride

A Nigerian court on Tuesday rejected a motion to have murder charges against a child bride accused of killing her husband dismissed, saying there was enough evidence for the case to proceed.

Wasila Tasi'u was 14 when she married Umar Sani, 35, in Nigeria's deeply conservative, mainly Muslim north last year, and could face the death penalty if convicted of using rat poison to kill him.
"I am of the opinion that there is a case against the accused," High Court Judge
Mohammed Yahaya said. "As such, I overrule the submission of no-case from the defence counsel."
Tasi'u's lawyers had argued that the state failed to establish her intent to kill Sani and questioned the reliability of a key prosecution witness.

The witness, a seven-year-old girl named Hamziyya who was identified as the sister of Sani's other wife, testified that Tasi'u gave her money to buy the poison on April 5 last year, the day Sani died.

The defence said that relying on testimony from a minor contravened Nigeria's Evidence Act and that the state's case should therefore be thrown out.

The families of both the deceased and the accused have rejected claims that she was forced to marry a man more than twice her age, noting that 14 was an appropriate age to marry and that Tasi'u chose Sani from a range of suitors.

Some locals have called for Tasi'u to face stiff punishment to discourage other girls from taking similar action if they become unhappy in their marriage.

But rights activists have demanded that Tasi'u be rehabilitated as a victim of a forced marriage, which likely included incidents of rape.

AFP reports that Tasi'u has remained largely stoic through her appearances in court so far, crying when charges were first read against her, but otherwise sitting silently, often with her head bowed.

On Tuesday she stood quietly in the dock, with her head fully covered in a sky-blue hijab.

Sani died after eating food that Tasi'u allegedly prepared for a meal to celebrate their marriage. Three others who reportedly ate the food also died, but prosecutors have combined the three deaths into a single murder charge.

The state has concluded its case and following Tuesday's ruling the defence was instructed to move forward with its own evidence when the trial resumes on April 29.

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Posted: at 22-04-2015 10:27 AM (8 years ago) | Hero

Shaking my head.

Posted: at 22-04-2015 10:58 AM (8 years ago) | Gistmaniac

Nawa

Posted: at 22-04-2015 12:16 PM (8 years ago) | Hero

please let how good president elect use is veto power to dismise the case. the is child abuse, the man who married her and the people that gave her in married should all be put in jail.well the man who married her has paid his price by eating rat pioson. the rest should be giving sneak poison in the jail.

Posted: at 22-04-2015 01:30 PM (8 years ago) | Newbie

hnmm

Posted: at 22-04-2015 02:19 PM (8 years ago) | Hero

and those idiots that went visiting expecting babywife to serve them food,,,,i hope thry dont go visiting in where they are now...............

Posted: at 22-04-2015 05:24 PM (8 years ago) | Upcoming