PAUL Enenche, the Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, on Wednesday claimed late Osinachi Nwachukwu kept the violence and abuse she suffered in her marriage from him and his church till she died.
Enenche made the claim while speaking on the passing of the popular gospel artiste.
He described the deceased as a “kingdom and generational asset”.
The cleric admitted he was aware of the deceased’s health condition and helped get doctors to treat her after she complained of chest pain.
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According to the pastor, Osinachi told him about her condition in the company of her husband.
Osinachi died last Friday at an Abuja hospital after a prolonged pulmonary ailment she allegedly suffered from as a result of beatings by her husband.
The deceased rose to stardom after producing the hit song “Ekwueme” and other popular gospel tracks.
A member of the Dunamis Church, headquartered in Abuja, Osinachi sang at different times with Enenche.
In his broadcast, posted on his Facebook Page, Enenche, a doctor, said he was shocked that the deceased husband had beaten her many times.
He said he was never aware of domestic violence in the deceased home.
Enenche said he gathered after the death that some of his church members knew about the abuse and refused to talk because the deceased always went on her knees, crying and begging them not to expose her husband.
He said she always hoped that God would change her husband.
Some of the members who were aware of the batteries were the deceased children, the church choir and a music producer in the church.
He explained that the music producer witnessed when the husband slapped Osinachi while rehearsing music in the studio.
Enenche said he challenged the producer why he didn’t attack the husband; the woman tearfully went on her knees, begging that her husband would change.
Similarly, the pastor said he gathered from the deceased children that they could not speak about the abuse because their father always demanded what they told him (Enenche) each time they came to him.
Speaking on his intervention when Osinachi was sick, he said she came to him with her husband, and he prayed for her.
When her health showed no improvement days later, the pastor said he called his church’s head of the medical team, Dr Osang, a consultant paediatrician at Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, to help the family.
Osang called his colleague at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, where they attended to the couple.
After the investigations at the Jabi hospital, the physicians felt a need for further enquiries, either at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital or the National Hospital in Abuja.
Enenche then called another consultant pulmonologist, a respiratory physician at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, to help.
From the University Teaching Hospital at Gwagwalada, Osinachi proceeded to the National Hospital for another round of tests.
“From what I saw at that time, the picture was much milder than what the CT scan earlier on showed. We felt happy that there was a relief. She called me literally daily, and I prayed with her. She reported progress. The point came when she needed no oxygen anymore; according to what she sent to me one night, they checked her oxygen perfusion, and it was 100 per cent. We felt very excited about that progress.
“That was the point before we went over to the crusade in Cameroon. In Cameroon, the second night, I learned about the unfortunate incident of her passing.
“Now, if domestic violence led to the symptoms she came with for two and a half months to three months ago, there is no way I will know. If they had perennial domestic violence, there was no way I would have known.”
While absolving his church of any blame for the deceased’s passing, he said the church welcomed people with multiple inclinations or different characters – both good and bad.
He said the church had zero tolerance for marital abuse.
Enenche, however, warned that people should not transfer aggression to his church and called on depressed people to seek help from him.
On Monday, The ICIR confirmed the arrest of Nwachukwu, Osinachi’s husband. The Police said they remanded him at the Lugbe Police Station in Abuja.
Osinachi’s death has triggered anger from Nigerians who condemned her death and called on women facing abuse in their marriage to speak up or quit.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org