On Tuesday, October 11, two of the late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu's staff testified in front of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that she had been verbally and physically abused by her husband, Peter Nwachukwu.
Osinachi, known for the gospel hymn "Ekwueme," passed away on April 8. her husband. Currently, Mr. Nwachukwu is being tried for 23 counts of culpable homicide and domestic abuse. He has been charged with being the cause of the deceased gospel singer's demise.
Adetunji Moses, a former personal assistant to the late Osinachi, testified at the case's resumed hearing on October 11 under the direction of the prosecution's attorney, Yewande Gbola-Awopetu. He claimed that on various occasions, Nwachukwu referred to his wife as useless, lazy, and indolent during rehearsals.
Moses claimed that from September 2018 to March 2021, he collaborated as a pianist and PA with the defendant and his wife. He claimed that he ceased working there because he was unable to put up with Mr. Nwachukwu's regularly expressed anger and hatred.
He said:
”In 2018, we traveled to Enugu. I was informed by the people who invited us that Nwachukwu left strict instructions that nobody should be allowed to visit mummy Osinachi.
It was later I got to know that her family resided in Enugu and they were the reason he gave the instructions.
On another occasion, we were to travel to Zimbabwe for ministration, and that morning, Nwachukwu got into an argument with his mother-in-law who was visiting at the time and due to the altercation, we missed our flight.
He tried to book us on another flight, but to no avail, and on our way back from the airport, having missed our flight, it was a serious battle as Nwachukwu kept abusing his wife verbally.
He told her that her family members were around to hinder our progress, to shut the door of the ministry and the blessings of God” Moses alleged".
The defendant, according to the former PA, allegedly told him not to let the deceased's twin sister share the stage with her during her sermon during an event in Lagos. He claimed that when the defendant was in Uyo for another ministry, a cheque was written in the deceased's name, and he accompanied the deceased to the bank to deposit the money before paying the crew members.
He said:
“Some of the crew members like the bass guitarist got angry and left the group because of the defendant’s refusal to keep to the terms of their agreement which was to pay them a percentage from every ministration,”
Moses replied with an affirmative response when I.A. Aliyu, the defendant's lead attorney, asked him if the dead frequently complained to him about ulcer pains. How close Moses was to the dead as her PA was a question Aliyu also posed. He claimed that whenever they traveled for ministry outside of Abuja, they interacted closely.
Moses was asked by the defense attorney if he was upset with the defendant because he wouldn't raise his pay, but he said he wasn't.
The hair stylist, Ms. Blessing Iyamabe, was also cross-examined. She said before the court that at some point in 2013 when she visited the deceased's home to get her hair done, the defendant contacted his wife to ask for her car key, but Osinachi instead sent her son to deliver the key to the defendant.
“The defendant got angry, came to where we were making the hair, and slapped his wife.
I witnessed another abuse in 2018. He came to my shop and slapped the deceased for not seeking his permission before coming to the salon, she alleged.
She claimed that once, out of dread of the defendant, she had to accompany the deceased to her daughter's school to make her hair. She claimed that in order to conceal from the defendant, she was forced to make the deceased daughter's hair in a restroom at a mall.
Aliyu questioned the witness on cross-examination if, as claimed in her statement to the police, she ever counseled the deceased to break off her relationship with the defendant. She retorted that the manner the defendant was treating her prompted her to offer advice.
Iyamabe responded that she had been informed that Osinachi passed away as a result of throat cancer when questioned if she knew what caused her death.
Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme, the trial's presiding judge, postponed the proceedings till Thursday after hearing the testimony.
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