Justice Nwosu-Iheme of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting at Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, has sentenced Peter Nwachukwu, husband of the late gospel singer Osinachi, to death by hanging. The judgment followed his conviction for culpable homicide in connection with Osinachi’s death on April 8, 2022.
The court delivered the sentence after concluding that the prosecution successfully established its case beyond reasonable doubt, meeting the legal burden of proof required to convict the defendant.
Nwachukwu was initially arraigned on June 3, 2022, by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF) on behalf of the Federal Government. He faced a 23-count charge that included culpable homicide punishable by death, spousal battery, child cruelty, and criminal intimidation, among other offenses.
During the trial, the prosecution presented 17 witnesses, including two of Osinachi’s children who testified as Prosecution Witness 4 (PW4) and Prosecution Witness 5 (PW5). The prosecution also submitted 25 documents as evidence.
On his part, the defendant testified in his own defense, called four additional witnesses, and tendered four exhibits.
Before sentencing, Nwachukwu’s lawyer, Reginald Nwali, pleaded for leniency during his allocutus, while prosecuting counsel, Mrs. Aderonke Imala, urged the court to uphold the full weight of the law.
Justice Nwosu-Iheme consequently sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on Count 1. In addition, he received two years imprisonment each on Counts 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 18; six months imprisonment on Count 10; and three years imprisonment on Count 11. The court also imposed fines of N500,000 and N200,000 on Counts 6 and 7, respectively.
