News: 14-year-old Bride Killed Her Husband, Witness Tells Kano Court

Four witnesses on Wednesday appeared  before a Kano State high court to testify in a case of culpable homicide involving a 14-years-old bride, Wasilat Tasiu, who is standing trial before the court  for allegedly  poisoning  her husband and three others to death.

The witnesses who were led in evidence by a senior state counsel from the state ministry of justice, Lamido  Soron Dinki, told the court that the accused person was married to one Umar Sani,  35, adding that the said Sani died along with three others after consuming a meal allegedly  poisoned by the accused.

A 7-years-old girl,  Hamziyya Alhaji Murtala,  in evidence, informed the court  that the accused, on April 5 at  Yan Tsoro village in Gaya Local Government Area, gave her the sum of N80 to purchase rat poison.

“On April 5, Wasilat called me and gave me N80 to buy rat poison for her, ‘that rats are disturbing her in her room, so she want to stop them from disturbing her’. So I went to Habua and bought the rat poison and gave it to Wasilat,” Hamziyya told the court.

In her evidence, Habuwa Yusif , 30, a resident of Yan Tsoro village informed the  court that on April 5, Hamziyya Murtala, at about 8 a.m. purchased rat poison from her, according to her,  the police invited her to Gaya police division where she was informed that  the poisonous substance had been used to poison a meal  resulting in the death of four residents of the area.

A witness who informed the court that he partook in the meal,  Abdulraheem Ibrahim, 30,  in his testimony before the court , said: “On that day,  we all came back from our farms, the late Sani brought out the meal, I  dipped my hand into the bowl twice, the meal tasted bad, I decided to opt out, I also sighted some foreign substance in the meal.

“One Almajiri came and was given part of the meal; he died, but I was taken to hospital where the doctor gave me drugs, and that was how I survived,” adding that the bridegroom to the 14 years-old girl, Sani; Hassan Alhassan, Nasiru Mohammed and Indo lost their lives after eating the meal known in local parlance as ‘dan wake’.

The half brother of Sani disclosed that the late husband of the accused passed on in his presence, saying the deceased had never complained  to him about his new  bride. “He died the day their marriage was 16-day-old,” he added.

The court presided over by Justice Mohammed Yahaya adjourned the matter to December 22 for further hearing, as he ordered that the accused person be remanded at the juvenile home.

The state ministry of justice yesterday, before a high court, Gezawa division, filed a new four count allegations against, Wusilat,  alleging that she murdered her husband, Sani, and three others.

The charge sheet filed against the accused stated that on April 5 at Yan Tsoro village, Wusilat poisoned a meal with a conceived intent to kill her  late husband.

The charge sheet further alleged that Sani, Hassan Alhassan, Nasiru Mohammed and Indo all partook in the poisoned meal and tall lost their lives, the prosecution alleged.