A FEDERAL Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has told Peter Nwachukwu, the husband of the late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu, that he had a case to answer regarding her death.
In a ruling on Tuesday, October 17, the court dismissed the no-case submission filed by Nwachukwu.
The judge, Nwosu-Iheme, declared in her ruling that the prosecution had proven its case against the defendant.
Nwachukwu is standing trial on a 23-count charge over his spouse’s death.
The defendant entered a not-guilty plea, and the court ordered that he be held at the Kuje detention facility pending further proceedings.
Throughout the trial, which started on June 20, 2022, and finished on March 10, 2023, the prosecution summoned 17 witnesses.
The court remanded Nwachukwu in the Kuje correctional facility pending the determination of the case filed against him.
The case was filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on May 20, 2022, by the Head of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Department of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice, Yewande Gbola-Awopetun.
Nwachukwu was detained at the Lugbe Divisional Police Headquarters, Abuja, following his arrest in April 2022, shortly after his wife’s death.
He was arrested over allegations that he repeatedly assaulted his wife until she died from injuries she sustained.
Osinachi died after spending days at an undisclosed hospital in Abuja.
The gospel artist’s death sparked anger after her family alleged that Nwachukwu subjected her to domestic violence.
Following an autopsy, the National Hospital in Abuja reported that the deceased bore no signs of violence.
Osinachi’s death was attributed to a variety of factors, according to the report, including “generalised organ pallor; bilateral leg swelling; fluid in the sac containing the heart; tumour deposits in and on the heart, lungs, and kidneys; a massively enlarged heart; and fluid around the lungs that restricted breathing.”
After the report, Nwachukwu’s lawyer, I.A. Aliyu, filed a no-case filing, ostensibly claiming that Nwachukwu had no case to answer.
According to Aliyu, the medical professionals’ testimony cleared Nwachukwu of the charges of culpable homicide and domestic violence.
According to him, the autopsy report showed that Osinachi’s death was caused by tumours that had grown outside her body, which led to cardiac tamponade, the primary cause of death, and abnormal tissue growth (cancer), the secondary cause of death.
He requested that the court clear his client of all charges.
The court rejected the no-case submission, and the defendant was then told to present his case.
The judge adjourned the matter until November 22 and 23 for defence.
A reporter with the ICIR
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