Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court has dismissed the no-case submission filed by Peter Nwachukwu, husband of Osinachi, the late gospel singer.
Gatekeepers News reports that the presiding judge, Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme while delivering a ruling on Tuesday held that “the prosecution has established a prima facie case against the defendant.”
Osinachi who passed away on April 8, 2022, was initially thought to have died of throat cancer.
However, associates claimed her death was connected to assault by her husband who was later arrested.
The federal government had filed a 23-count charge against Nwachukwu over the death of Osinachi.
After the defendant pleaded not guilty, the judge ordered that Nwachukwu be remanded at the Kuje correctional facility pending further hearing.
The prosecution had called 17 witnesses to testify during the trial, which commenced on June 20, 2022, and ended on March 10, 2023.
Meanwhile, the National Hospital in Abuja had issued an autopsy, which stated that there was “no mark of violence on the deceased.”
The report listed the cause of Osinachi’s death to include “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.”
Following the report, the defendant’s lead counsel, I. A. Aliyu proceeded to file a no-case submission, implying that Nwachukwu had no case to answer.
Aliyu claimed evidence presented by the medical practitioners exonerated Nwachukwu from the allegations of culpable homicide and domestic violence.
He noted that the autopsy report confirmed that Osinachi died “solely as a result of outgrowth tumours, which resulted in cardiac tamponade, the primary cause of death and abnormal growth of tissue (cancer) which is the secondary cause of death.”
Nwachukwu prayed the court to discharge and acquit his client of all allegations.
Nevertheless, the court dismissed the no-case submission and ordered the defendant to open his defence.
