Justice Nwosu-Iheme of an FCT High Court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday, April 28, sentenced Peter Nwachukwu, the husband of late Nigerian gospel singer Osinachi, to death by hanging.
Nwachukwu was found guilty of culpable homicide resulting in the death of his wife on April 8, 2022.
The judge held that the prosecution had proven the burden of proof placed on it by law and subsequently found the defendant guilty.
Nwachukwu was arraigned on June 3, 2022, by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF), on behalf of the Federal Government, on a 23-count charge.
The charges included culpable homicide punishable with death, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, criminal intimidation of children, spousal battery, and others.
During the trial, the prosecution called 17 witnesses, including two children of the late Osinachi, who testified as the fourth and fifth prosecution witnesses (PW4 and PW5), respectively. The prosecution also tendered 25 documents as exhibits before the court.
The defendant testified in his defense and called four other witnesses, tendering four exhibits.
Before sentencing, the defendant’s counsel, Reginald Nwali, pleaded with the court to be lenient in its judgment. Similarly, the prosecution counsel, Mrs. Aderonke Imala, urged the court to give force to the law as stipulated.
Justice Nwosu-Iheme subsequently sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on Count 1, while he was sentenced to two years in prison each on Counts 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 18.
The court also sentenced the defendant to six months in prison on Count 10, three years in prison on Count 11, and fined him N500,000 and N200,000 on Counts 6 and 7, respectively.
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