ACTIVISTS INTERVENE OVER THE MURDER TRIAL OF KANO CHILD-BRIDE!
ACTIVISTS INTERVENE OVER THE MURDER TRIAL OF KANO CHILD-BRIDE!
I am hoping that by now, everyone in the house is well acquainted with the story of the child’s bride and the circumstances surrounding her reason for poising her husband and three other elders who ate the food she prepared.This is the 4th update on this story. On the last update, we told you how she was forced against her wish to get married at the age of 14 to a man who is old enough to be her father inspite of her demand to go to school and become a better woman. Out of depression and hunger for freedom from a forced marriage, she put rat poison to the food she served her husband. Unfortunately, three other elders who ate the food with her husband, died too. Her case was transferred from the appropriate court for minors which is, ‘Juvenile court’ for lack of jurisdiction to a High court. Appropriate authorities have already started seeking for death penalty on her since she has already been adjudged guilty of murder in a Kano State High Court.
*To the present*
Wasila Tasiu, the 14-year-old child bride’s trial and verdict at High court has recently raised some eyebrows from activists, legal practitioners and the public on why the girl should be tried as an adult. They believe that it was a misnomer for the child-bride to be tried as an adult considering her age. Lagos lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, was one of the lawyers who felt it was strange under Nigerian laws to try the girl as an adult said,
“Generally, it is not right for the state to try the girl as an adult because she is just 14 years old. I do not know whether there is a particular waiver in the Kano State Penal Code that allows such trial.
“There may be new information regarding the girl’s age that we are not aware of, but generally, it is not right under the law to try her in a high court. Apart from this, there is no circumstance under which the girl should be tried as an adult.”
Adulthood is pegged at the age of 18 and above according to the 1999 Constitution but marriage of girls younger than that age is still relatively popular in northern Nigeria.
Another Lagos lawyer and social commentator, Mr. Malachy Ugwummadu, said Tasiu’s case is not a constitutional issue but a statutory one. He said the law is clear on crimes committed by minors, adding that he found it strange that the girl’s case was transferred to a high court.
He said,
“Children are basically not perceived as being responsible for criminal actions. In cases where children commit a crime, they are either kept in custody pending the time they come of age or they are tried in a juvenile court.
“In cases where a child is kept in custody, such cases are subjected to regular review through the state governor’s prerogative on whether the case against the child still warrants trial. “It is important to realize that the ramification of most of the crimes in our society these days has correlation with the social malfeasance permitted by culture in some parts of the country.”
The lawyer said the public should take Tasiu’s case seriously because Nigeria may be unwittingly creating another problem for the future that would rival the Boko Haram menace currently facing the country. For him, the tragedy of the case is the fact that Tasiu would feel abandoned by the society that was supposed to protect her.
Thank God that people are beginning to speak up against the rumored death penalty on Wasila. May her anticipated freedom set a precedent and bring to a halt under age marriage which is prevalent in the North.
Those in support say ‘I’. Those against say, ‘Nay’.
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