Nigerian prosecutors on Wednesday withdrew murder charges against a 15-year-old girl who was accused of using rat poison to kill the 35-year-old man she had married.

Prosecutor Lamido Abba Soron-Dinki asked the High Court in Gezawa, Kano state, to "terminate the case of culpable homicide against Wasila Tasi'u", who was 14 when she married Umar Sani.

"With a heavy heart, I apply that the accused be discharged," he added. Legal sources in Kano told AFP separately that Nigeria had faced pressure to drop the case which has angered rights activists.