Justice Nwosu-Iheme of the federal High Court, Wude Zone 2, Abuja, has sentenced the husband of late gospel singer, Osinachi, Peter Nwachukwu, to death by hanging after the court found him guilty of culpable homicide resulting in the singers death on April 8, 2022.
The judge while sentencing Nwachukwu to death held that the prosecution had proven the burden of proof placed on it by the law and subsequently found the defendant guilty.
Nwachukwu was arraigned on June 3, 2022, by the Office of Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF), on behalf of the Federal Government, on a 23-count charge bordering on culpable homicide punishable with death, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, criminal intimidation of children, spousal battery, among others.
In the course of trial, the prosecution called 17 witnesses, including two children of the late Osinachi, who testified as fourth and fifth prosecution witnesses respectively, while it tendered 25 documents as exhibits before the court.
The defendant testified for the defence and further called four other witnesses and tendered four exhibits in his defence.
Shortly before sentencing the defendant, counsel to Nwachukwu, Reginald Nwali, in his allocutus pleaded with the court to be lenient in its judgment, while the prosecuting 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 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 on Count 11, while he was fined the sum of N500,000 and N200,000 respectively on Counts 6 and 7, respectively.
