Peter Nwachukwu, husband of late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu, has been sentenced to death by hanging by Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, sitting at Wuse Zone 2, Abuja.
Delivering judgment today, Justice Nwosu-Iheme found Nwachukwu guilty of culpable homicide over the singer’s death on April 8, 2022, declaring that “the prosecution has established its case beyond reasonable doubt.”
Nwachukwu, who was arraigned on June 3, 2022, faced a 23-count charge brought by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF), including culpable homicide punishable by death, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, spousal battery, and related offences.
During the trial, the prosecution called 17 witnesses, among them two of the couple’s children, and tendered 25 exhibits. Nwachukwu, in his defence, testified personally, called four witnesses, and presented four documentary exhibits.
In a final plea before sentencing, Nwachukwu’s lawyer, Reginald Nwali, urged the court for leniency, stating, “We pray the court to temper justice with mercy, considering the defendant’s circumstances.” However, the prosecuting counsel, Mrs. Aderonke Imala, insisted the law must take its full course. “Justice must be served, both for the late Osinachi and the society at large,” Imala said.
Justice Nwosu-Iheme thereafter sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on Count 1. She also imposed two years’ imprisonment each for Counts 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 18; six months for Count 10; and three years for Count 11. In addition, the court fined him N500,000 and N200,000 on Counts 6 and 7 respectively.
As she pronounced the verdict, the judge remarked solemnly, “No one, no matter their status or relationship, has the right to take another’s life or subject them to a lifetime of fear and abuse.”
The courtroom fell silent as Nwachukwu, visibly shaken, heard his sentence.
