Nigeria: Child Bride Feeds Husband Rat Poison Because She Did Not Love Him

A child bride in Nigeria has murdered her husband after feeding him rat poison because she did not love him.

The 14-year-old, named Wasila Umaru fed rat poison to her husband and his friend by hiding it in their food.

She told police officers she had done it because she had been forced to marry him, even though she had no feelings for him. She had put the poison in a rice dish.

The couple wedded recently in her husband's village Ungwar Yansoro, located 100km from the northern Nigerian city of Kano.

Musa Magaji Majia, assistant police superintendent, said Wasila was cooperating with the police investigation and will probably be charged with culpable homicide.

"The suspect confessed to committing the crime and said she did it because she was forced to marry a man she did not love," Majia told Associated Press.

The groom and a friend died the day of eating the poison, while two other victims died later in hospital.

Child marriages are common in Nigeria, with half of girls living in rural areas married off before the age of 18. The practice is especially common in Muslim and northern regions, with cases skyrocketing in times of drought when a bride price means fewer family members to feed.

Last year an eight-year-old girl in Nigeria became the youngest ever wife to divorce her husband.

Fatima Mangre was granted a divorce after being betrothed at just four. Her father changed his mind when her 10-year-old husband came to collect her.