14-Year-Old Bride Poisons 29-Year-Old Groom In Jigawa

Khamis Haruna, the groom who escaped death by a whisker after eating a poisoned meal prepared by her bride two days after their wedding, has expressed shock over the incident, saying that he was of the opinion that his bride, Zahara’u, was in love.

 

Contrary to earlier reports that the ugly incident occurred on the night they were married, Haruna said the incident occurred last Sunday, two days after their marriage penultimate Friday.

 

He recalled that the poisoned food prepared by Zahara’u at their Albasu village in Jahun Local Government Area was consumed by him and two of his friends as they prepared to go to bed following the departure of other friends, family members and well-wishers.

 

Twenty-nine-year-old Haruna recalled that while he and his friend Isyaku Adamu were lucky to survive the poisonous food after spending a night at Kiyawa Hospital, his other friend, Muhammed Alfah, was not so lucky, as he eventually gave up the ghost.

 

Speaking to The Nation in an exclusive interview, Haruna said: “We were married on Friday and the ceremony continued till Sunday when the bride, Zahara’u, came into my house as the last phase of the ceremony.

 

“At about 10 pm on that day, my two friends urged me to go into Zaharau’s room, but I said no, because some of the women that escorted her to the house had not left.

 

“So we were in my tailoring shop when some of the bride’s friends came and told us that we should come in to eat, but I told them we were not yet ready.

 

“Later, they came back with the food, which was jollof spaghetti, and left.”

 

Haruna, who said that he and Zaharau courted for two years before they got married penultimate Friday, however, said the bride was only 14 years old at the time they got married.

 

He said: “We were married of love. She loved me I loved her too.

 

“Since she was still a small girl, we were in love for two years before our marriage.

 

“We saw her in a neighbouring village, Bakata, also in Kiyawa Local Government Area, and approached her almost two years ago.

 

“We continued dating until she reached 14 years and I made arrangements for marriage.

 

“We got married on (penultimate) Friday and I brought her to my house on the day of the tragic incident.”

 

Recalling the events immediately preceding the incident, Haruna said: “I was on my sewing machine when they brought the food while my two friends sat on the floor.

 

“Muhammad Alfah opened the food immediately and asked me to come down and eat, while he and Isyaku started eating before I joined them.

 

“I had only taken about six spoons when we observed that there was a substance in the food.

 

“Noticing that, we became suspicious and stopped eating. We all became uncomfortable and scared.

 

“A few minutes later, Alfah started complaining about his stomach. He stood up to leave but he could not control himself, so we took him to a friend’s house which was closer.

“By the time we got inside, all of us had started feeling the same. We were given milk but we felt no relief as the situation worsened.

 

“We were then rushed to Jahun Hospital where Alfah died while Isyaku and I were rescued.”

 

Haruna alleged that on the day Zaharau was to be taken to his house, she went to collect her new clothes from a tailor in their village where she met one of her ex-lovers (name withheld) who gave her the substance and asked her to put it in the food that he (Haruna) would eat.

 

“I’m really surprised. We were married for love. She never showed any worries about our relationship and never displayed any sign of ill feeling before she carried out the evil act.”

 

The father of Alfah, Malam Muhammad Sani, said the deceased was his only son, and he was survived by his wife and twin children who were only six days old.

 

Lamenting the loss of his son, Mallam Sani described him as loyal, responsible, religious and disciplined.

 

“I really lost him. He was the only one I had and totally relied on.

 

“As you can see, I am already old. He was the one carrying the family’s responsibilities.

 

“Alfah was really gentle. May Allah forgive all his sins and grant him Jannatil Fiddausi”.

 

On his part, Isyaku, the other friend who narrowly escaped death, described the late Alfah as his childhood friend whose death occurred a day to the naming ceremony of the twins his wife had just given birth to.

 

Isyaku said: “The late Alfah joined us after he came back from market where he had gone to buy rams to be slaughtered for the naming of the new born twins the following day.

 

“The three of us were together when the bride sent some people to bring food to us and without any delay, we started eating.

 

“It was jollof spaghetti and meat. While trying to share the meat, I brought forth a torch and lighted the food only to discover a strange substance.

 

“We became suspicious and Khamis (Haruna) offered to throw the food away, but I said no.

 

“I covered the food while we were thinking and trying to ascertain what the substance in it really was.

 

“Alfah then complained about his stomach and we were all scared, knowing that we had been poisoned.

 

“There and then, Khamis and I started feeling pains in our stomachs. That was when we realised what we saw on the food was poison.

 

“We did not even know when we were taken to the hospital where Alfah died.”

 

Alfah’s father, Isyaku and Haruna all appealed to the authorities for justice.