The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Wuse Zone 2 has sentenced Peter Nwachukwu, husband of the late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu, to death by hanging for culpable homicide. Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme dismissed Nwachukwu’s no-case submission and found him guilty, ruling that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt. Osinachi’s death on April 8, 2022, sparked widespread outrage across Nigeria.
Nwachukwu was arraigned on June 3, 2022, by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation on 23 counts including culpable homicide, criminal intimidation, spousal battery, and cruelty to children. Throughout the trial, the prosecution called 17 witnesses, including two of the couple’s children, and submitted 25 documents as exhibits. The defence called four witnesses and tendered four exhibits.
Before sentencing, Nwachukwu’s lawyer, Mr. Reginald Nwali, pleaded for leniency, but prosecution counsel Mrs. Aderonke Imala urged the court to impose the full weight of the law. Aside from the death sentence on count 1, Nwachukwu was sentenced to two years imprisonment each on several other counts (2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 18) and fined ₦500,000 and ₦200,000 on counts 6 and 7, respectively.
