Late Gospel Musician Osinachi's Husband, Peter Nwachukwu Sentenced to Death by Hanging

• Peter Nwachukwu, husband of late gospel singer Osinachi, was sentenced to death by hanging by a FCT High Court for her killing
• Justice Nwosu-Iheme ruled that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, with testimonies from 17 witnesses including two of the couple’s children
• In addition to the death sentence, Nwachukwu received multiple jail terms and fines for related offences including spousal abuse and cruelty to children

Peter Nwachukwu, the husband of late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu, has been sentenced to death by hanging by Justice Nwosu-Iheme of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting at Wuse Zone 2, Abuja.

The court delivered the ruling on Monday, April 28, after finding Nwachukwu guilty of culpable homicide in connection with his wife’s death on April 8, 2022.

The judge declared that the prosecution successfully discharged the legal burden of proof required to convict the defendant.

Late singer's husband charged by AGF

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Nwachukwu was originally arraigned on June 3, 2022, by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, facing a 23-count charge.

The allegations ranged from culpable homicide punishable by death to charges including spousal battery, cruelty towards children, and criminal intimidation.

Throughout the course of the trial, the prosecution presented 17 witnesses, among whom were two of the couple’s children, who testified as the fourth and fifth prosecution witnesses (PW4 and PW5).

In addition to the testimonies, the prosecution tendered 25 exhibits, all admitted by the court.

On his part, Nwachukwu took the witness stand in his defence, calling four additional witnesses and submitting four documents to support his case. Despite the defence’s efforts, the court maintained that the weight of the evidence pointed squarely to Nwachukwu’s culpability.

Prior to sentencing, defence counsel Reginald Nwali pleaded for leniency, urging the court to temper justice with mercy. However, prosecution counsel Mrs. Aderonke Imala urged the court to enforce the law as provided, stressing the severity of the crime.

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Following deliberations, Justice Nwosu-Iheme sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on Count 1 of the charges. In addition, he received two years’ imprisonment each on Counts 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 18.

The court also imposed six months’ imprisonment for Count 10, and three years for Count 11. Furthermore, the defendant was fined N500,000 and N200,000 on Counts 6 and 7 respectively.

The verdict marks the conclusion of a case that had drawn widespread national attention, given Osinachi’s popularity in Nigeria’s gospel music scene.

Her death had initially sparked public outrage, with allegations of prolonged domestic abuse surfacing shortly after.

Police submit autopsy result

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the result of the autopsy on late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu’s body had been released to the police.

The Nation newspaper reports that the National Hospital, Abuja, which carried out the post-mortem, sent its findings to the police.

Source: Legit.ng