Osinachi’s husband, Mr Nwachukwu, was found guilty of culpable homicide, with the court adjudging him to have caused the death of his late wife, Osinachi, who died on 8 April 2022.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, on Monday, sentenced Peter Nwachukwu, the widower of the late gospel singer Osinachi, to death by hanging.
Mr Nwachukwu was found guilty of culpable homicide, with the court adjudging him to have caused the death of the deceased (his wife) on 8 April 2022.
The judge held that the prosecution discharged the burden of proof placed on it by the law and subsequently found the defendant guilty.
Osinachi’s husband was arraigned on 3 June 2022 by the Office of Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF) on 23 charges, including culpable homicide punishable with death.
Other charges include criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, criminal intimidation of children, spousal battery.
During the trial, the prosecution called 17 witnesses, including two children of the late Osinachi, who testified as fourth prosecution and fifth prosecution witnesses.
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The prosecution also tendered 25 documents as exhibits before the court.
The defendant testified in the defence of himself, called four other witnesses and tendered four exhibits.
Shortly before sentencing, the defence lawyer Reginald Nwali in his “allocutus” (plea for mercy), pleaded with the court to be lenient in its judgement.
But the prosecution counsel, Aderonke Imala, urged the court to give force to the law as stipulated.
The judge subsequently sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on Count 1, while he was sentenced to two years imprisonment each on Counts 2, 3, 8,9, 12, 13, and 18.
The court sentenced the defendant to six months imprisonment on Count 10, three years imprisonment in Count 11, while he was fined the sum of N500,000 and N200,000 respectively on Counts 6 and 7 respectively.
Osinachi died on April 8, and many of her colleagues accused her husband of subjecting her to domestic violence, leading to her death.
The 42-year-old songstress was a lead singer at the Dunamis International Gospel Centre.
The singer shot into the limelight with the hit, “Ekwueme”, which she sang alongside Prospa Ochimana.
