Wasilat Tasi'u is on trial for the murder of her 35-year-old husband, Umar Sani, who died after eating food that Tasi'u allegedly laced with rat poison.
"We are appealing to the judge to consider Wasilat's plea," her father, Isyaku Tasi'u, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Ads by Ge-ForcesAd OptioOn Wednesday witnesses told the High Court in Gezawa, a town 60 miles
outside Nigeria's second largest city of Kano, that Tasi'u killed her
husband two weeks after their wedding in April. Three others allegedly
died after eating the poisoned meal.The prosecution, led by
Lamido Soron-Dinki, senior state council from the Kano State Ministry of
Justice, is seeking the death penaltyThe case calls into
question the legality of trying a 14-year-old for murder under criminal
law and the rights of child brides, who are common in the
poverty-stricken, predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria regio"She
was married to a man that she didn't love. She protested but her
parents forced her to marry him," Zubeida Nagee, a women's rights
activist in Kano, told AP. Nagee and other activists have written a
letter of protest to the Kano state deputy governorNagee said
Tasi'u was a victim of systematic abuse endured by millions of girls in
the region. Activists say the blend of traditional customs, Islamic law
and Nigeria's constitutional law poses a challenge when advocating for
the rights of young girls in Nigeria.Justice Mohammed Yahaya adjourned the court until December 22. Tasi'u is in state juvenile custody.
Olugbenga Ashiru,
former minister of foreign affairs, has died in a South African hospital
after a long battle with illness.
The career diplomat, credited with re-energising Nigeria’s presence in
international diplomacy in the post-Olusegun Obasanjo era, died on
Saturday.
Family sources told TheCable that he had been battling with brain tumour
for a while and had be hospitalised for over three months.
Ashiru played a key role in the diplomatic face-off between Nigeria and
South Africa in 2012 over the deportation of 125 Nigerians for not
possessing valid yellow fever vaccination certificates.
Nigeria retaliated and the stand-off was eventually resolved.
Ashiru, appointed minister by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, was
removed in 2013 in a cabinet reshuffle.
He had been one of the most respected ministers but he was said to have
been nominated into the cabinet by Obasanjo who had publicly fallen out
with Jonathan.
Ashiru, while handing over, said he had succeeded in securing 22 key
international appointments for Nigerians.
Some of the positions included the commissioner for political affairs in
African Union and commissioner for peace and security at the ECOWAS
commission.
“I am leaving foreign ministry as a fulfilled man considering my
achievements in just two years,” he said.
He was born on August 27, 1948 in Ijebu Ode, Ogun state.
The product of University of Lagos, was Third Secretary at the Federal
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1972, and served as ambassador to the
South Korea in 1991.
He was Nigeria’s high commissioner to South Africa, with concurrent
accreditation to Lesotho and Swaziland, in 2005.
Read more at: http://www.thecable.ng/breaking-gbenga-ashiru-former-foreign-affairs-minister-dies-south-africa | TheCable
Read more at: http://www.thecable.ng/breaking-gbenga-ashiru-former-foreign-affairs-minister-dies-south-africa | TheCable
Olugbenga Ashiru,
former minister of foreign affairs, has died in a South African hospital
after a long battle with illness.
The career diplomat, credited with re-energising Nigeria’s presence in
international diplomacy in the post-Olusegun Obasanjo era, died on
Saturday.
Family sources told TheCable that he had been battling with brain tumour
for a while and had be hospitalised for over three months.
Ashiru played a key role in the diplomatic face-off between Nigeria and
South Africa in 2012 over the deportation of 125 Nigerians for not
possessing valid yellow fever vaccination certificates.
Nigeria retaliated and the stand-off was eventually resolved.
Ashiru, appointed minister by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, was
removed in 2013 in a cabinet reshuffle.
He had been one of the most respected ministers but he was said to have
been nominated into the cabinet by Obasanjo who had publicly fallen out
with Jonathan.
Ashiru, while handing over, said he had succeeded in securing 22 key
international appointments for Nigerians.
Some of the positions included the commissioner for political affairs in
African Union and commissioner for peace and security at the ECOWAS
commission.
“I am leaving foreign ministry as a fulfilled man considering my
achievements in just two years,” he said.
He was born on August 27, 1948 in Ijebu Ode, Ogun state.
The product of University of Lagos, was Third Secretary at the Federal
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1972, and served as ambassador to the
South Korea in 1991.
He was Nigeria’s high commissioner to South Africa, with concurrent
accreditation to Lesotho and Swaziland, in 2005.
Read more at: http://www.thecable.ng/breaking-gbenga-ashiru-former-foreign-affairs-minister-dies-south-africa | TheCable
Read more at: http://www.thecable.ng/breaking-gbenga-ashiru-former-foreign-affairs-minister-dies-south-africa | TheCable
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