A Nigerian court dropped the charges against 15-year-old Wasila Tasi'u, who was accused of killing her 35-year-old husband with rat poison.
The teenager, who was forced into child marriage at the tender age of 13, was facing a possible death sentence if she had been convicted of culpable homicide for intentionally poisoned her husband, Umar Sani, according to The Guardian.
The Kano state government called for the case to be dismissed, as she was a minor who was forced into marriage, BBC News reported.
Judge Mohammed Yahaya, a judge in Gezawa's high court, confirmed that the charges against the girl would be dropped.
"I have no alternative than to pronounce according to law that the application of 'nolle prosequi' (unwilling to pursue) is hereby granted," he announced.
"In consequence, therefore, you, Wasila Tasi'u, are hereby discharged."
The teen was in court wearing the traditional Muslim niqab, staring at the floor during the court's session. She stayed silent even after the judgment was announced and was escorted back to a juvenile detention facility. The girl is expected to be released from custody following the ruling.
When the case was first reported last year, it shed light on the prevalence of forced child marriages in Nigeria.
Wasila's defense attorney Hussaina Aliyu Ibrahum says she is concerned about the safety of her client in a society that feels that she is getting off too easily. She says that returning the girl to her old-fashioned Muslim family will only consign her to another forced marriage, according to The Washington Post.
