In a landmark judgment delivered today, Justice Nwosu-Iheme of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, sentenced Peter Nwachukwu, husband of the late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu, to death by hanging.
The court found Nwachukwu guilty of culpable homicide, concluding that his actions led directly to the death of his wife on April 8, 2022. Justice Nwosu-Iheme ruled that the prosecution had successfully proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, meeting the burden of proof required by law.
Nwachukwu, who was arraigned on June 3, 2022, by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF) on behalf of the Federal Government, faced a 23-count charge. The charges included culpable homicide punishable by death, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, and 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 prosecution and fifth prosecution witnesses, PW4 and PW5 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 for 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.
(Tribune)
