Activists In Nigeria Fight For Child Bride Who Might Seek Death Penalty

A 14-year-old child bride in Nigeria was reportedly accused of murdering her 35-year-old husband by putting rat poison in his food and could face the death penalty for her act, stated Nigerian prosecutors on Thursday, according to the media outlet AFP. 

Activists, including those in Nigeria's mainly Christian south, have reportedly called for Wasila Tasi'u's release, claiming that she should be considered a victim and noting the prospect that she was raped by the man she married. 

However, families on both sides have reportedly denied that Tasi'u was forced into marriage. According to Nigera's marriage act, anyone under 21 can marry provided they have parental consent, which reportedly means that evidence of an agreement between Tasi'u and her father Tasiu Mohammed could undermine the claims of any forced union. 

Prosecutors at the high court in Gezawa reportedly filed an amended complaint that charged Tasi'u with one count of murder over the killing of Umar Suni two weeks after their April wedding, according to The Guardian. When the alleged offenses were read to Tasi'u during the trial, she reportedly remained silent. 

"The court records [that] she pleads not guilty," stated Judge Mohammed Yahaya, regarding her silence as her denial to the charges. 

Defense lawyer Hussaina Aliyu reportedly insisted that the case was not a debate about child brides or the role of youth marriage in a Muslim society, but rather that a 14-year-old cannot be charged with murder in a high court. Aliyu has reportedly demanded that the case be moved to the juvenile system.