Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Wuse Zone 2 has rejected the ‘no-case submission’ filed by Peter Nwachukwu, the husband of the late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu. The judge determined that the prosecution had established a case against the defendant.
The Federal Government had filed a 23-count charge against Nwachukwu in connection with Osinachi’s death. Following his not guilty plea, the judge ordered his remand at the Kuje correctional facility for further proceedings.
The trial, which ran from June 20, 2022, to March 10, 2023, included 17 witnesses. Initially, Osinachi’s death was attributed to throat cancer, but allegations of spousal assault led to her husband’s arrest.
An autopsy from the National Hospital in Abuja found no signs of violence and listed the cause of her death as “generalised organ pallor; bilateral leg swelling; fluid in the sac containing the heart; tumour deposits in and on the heart, lungs, kidneys; massively enlarged heart; and fluid around the lungs, which restrict breathing”.
Read also: Osinachi, Deborah and sundry issues
Subsequent to the report, Nwachukwu’s attorney, I.A. Aliyu, lodged a no-case submission, contending that Nwachukwu bore no responsibility. Aliyu argued that the medical practitioners’ evidence vindicated Nwachukwu from the accusations of culpable homicide and domestic violence.
He emphasised the autopsy report, which specified that Osinachi’s demise resulted from “outgrowth tumours causing cardiac tamponade, the primary cause of death, and abnormal tissue growth (cancer) as the secondary cause of death.”
He requested the court exonerate his client from all charges. Nevertheless, the court dismissed the no-case submission and mandated the defendant to present his defence.
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