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Abuja, Nigeria — The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, sitting in Wuse Zone 2, has sentenced Peter Nwachukwu, husband of late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of culpable homicide.
Abuja, Nigeria — The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, sitting in Wuse Zone 2, has sentenced Peter Nwachukwu, husband of late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of culpable homicide.
Delivering judgment on Friday, April 25, 2025, Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme ruled that the prosecution, led by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF), had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt. The court concluded that Nwachukwu’s actions directly caused the death of his wife on April 8, 2022.
Nwachukwu was arraigned by the Federal Government on June 3, 2022, on a 23-count charge bordering on culpable homicide punishable by death, criminal intimidation, spousal battery, cruelty to children, and other related offences.
During the trial, the prosecution presented 17 witnesses, including two of the deceased’s children who testified as PW4 and PW5, and tendered 25 exhibits. In defence, Nwachukwu testified personally, called four witnesses, and submitted four exhibits.
Prior to sentencing, Nwachukwu’s lawyer, Reginald Nwali, pleaded for leniency, but prosecuting counsel, Mrs. Aderonke Imala, urged the court to impose the maximum penalty in light of the gravity of the offence.
In her ruling, Justice Nwosu-Iheme sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on Count 1 (culpable homicide). She also handed him two years' imprisonment each on Counts 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 18, relating to charges of criminal intimidation and spousal battery, as well as six years' imprisonment on Count 10.
The verdict brings to a close a high-profile case that captured national attention and renewed urgent conversations across Nigeria about domestic violence and spousal abuse.
