Osinachi: Peter Nwachukwu always aggressive, two aides, tell court

Trial of Peter Nwachukwu, husband to the late Osinachi Nwachukwu, continued today before Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Wuse, Abuja, with the testimony of two aides who worked closely with Osinachi and an Investigative Police Officer, IPO.

One of the aides, who simply identified himself as Victor Akpan, a 35-year-old drummer who plays for Dunamis and worked with Osinachi, said Peter Nwachukwu would always say harsh words and had no regard for anybody.

Narrating to the court, he said, “I know Peter Nwachukwu as a man that does not have respect for anybody, he says words like, ‘you’re mad, you’re stupid, who are you,’ he is the kind of man that insults his wife in the midst of instrumentalists not regarding anybody. When we were having rehearsals with his wife he turned and said a word, ‘you’re smelling, who are you without me.’ Whenever he says words like that the only thing we hear from his wife is ‘I’m sorry.

“Sometimes when we go for programs outside Abuja, he would collect money for flight and put us on the road. Once we arrive, we call the wife and say this is what your husband did to us. Sometimes, he talks to people who invite us anyhow he wants.

“There’s a day he sent us to the road and we had an accident and I posted on the group what God used me to deliver the team from because similar accident happened that killed so many lives. Someone in the vehicle had my surname and I posted on the group that we should pray and thank God. When he saw it on the group, he said, why didn’t I die in that vehicle.

“There are several times that we would go for programs, there won’t be money for feeding, both the crew and mama(Osinachi). It got to a point that we were in the hotel room when mama held her stomach and my colleague Mr Gift, went to her to ask what was the problem, she said she had ulcer and Gift asked for her to give him money, she said she didn’t have.

“Gift went out to buy her drugs with his own money that was how I got know what she was going through. Mr Peter is not a man you can learn good thing from, he talks to you without control, he is a god to himself and he doesn’t know anything about music but he imposes that we do what he wants. He is this kind of person that is very aggressive. There’s a day we travelled to Lagos, he went with us that day we were in the hotel room he collected like four programs without letting us know.

“When the twin sister came up to sing with Osinachi, at the alter during unusual praise, he started calling me on phone. After the program, I called him back, the first word that came out was ‘are you mad, are you stupid, is this how you are going to become a leader?’ Mama was very happy when she came down from the stage but when Mr Peter called her we saw her crying, we knew what happened, there was supposed to be a congratulation from the husband but he will be insulting her on the phone calling her names both in Igbo language. What she does is to give me the phone and say ‘Victor take.’

“Despite everything, and the pains Mr Peter caused her, she still asked us to pray for him for mercy that she believes he is going to change. He talks to her anyhow in front of people and in the presence of church members too. As a woman of the spirit, she sings according to how the spirit leads her, the husband will always want her to sing his own way and being an instrumentalist, I love her calling, we will try to make him understand that Osinachi’s music is for this time, he will tell us ‘do whatever you want to do when we get to the house, we will see.’

“Sometimes mama will stay in church till evening before going home, and when she finishes singing and coming down from the alter what we hear from Peter is are you mad, who are you this small woman, who are you without me, without me you are nothing and people come around to beg and when he’s leaving, the wife will remain in church crying.

“Osinachi was a wonderful woman, she does everything her husband says, despite the insult in crowd, programs, she was still humble to her husband. She’s a woman that is so calm. At a time she called me and she said we should pray for her husband that he will change, she was a prayerful woman, she was a mother.

“She’s a woman that even if she doesn’t eat she still has the strength to sing, she can talk to you very gently, she’s a gentle talker, but when she carries the microphone, her voice is very loud.”

Under Cross-examination by defence counsel  I.A Aliyu, Victor Akpan said he never reported the matter to the police or even the church leadership.

In the same vein, the second prosecution witness for the day’s court hearing, Mr Gift George, an event manager and bass guitarist at the Glory Dome, Dunamis, Abuja, said Osinachi would carry teary eyes most times they come for rehearsals.

According to him, “There was a time we went to Lagos and coming back to Abuja as late as 10:30pm, I put a call across to Peter that we are about boarding so that there will be provision for us to leave the airport in Abuja. And when we eventually arrived I called him that we are in Abuja now, he now said, the rest of us can go that he would come and pick her. Because it was late I told him that I cannot do that but instead let them go and I will wait because I’m a man.

“Then in a few minutes he called and said all of us should wait for him that he is coming, before he came a few persons had gone already and a few remaining. Few days after, on Tuesday of the next week while I went to their house for rehearsals, I saw Osinachi with red eyes and I was like ‘mama what happened?’ she said to me that it’s Peter and in her usual way she said please don’t ask him and I didn’t ask.

“We came for rehearsal in the house, we were all gathered there but she was not there and when she eventually came, I asked her where she went to, she told me she was washing clothes and cooking. I now said at your level you are supposed to have a house help, she was afraid and told me that Peter will never allow that.

“While we were still talking, Peter walked into the studio where we were rehearsing, started quarrelling and shouting on her in the presence of everybody using abusive words. I couldn’t take it, I had to step out.”

Finally, an Investigative Police Officer of the Lugbe Police Station FCT Command, Tasiu Ahmed, in his testimony, said, “On the 10th of April, 2022, one Mr. Godwin Madu, FCT, Abuja came to Lugbe Police station and complained against the defendant on behalf of his family that the defendant is legally married to his late sister Osinachi Nwachukwu that they are married and blessed with 4 children, 3 boys and one girl. That immediately after they wedded, the defendant has been maltreating his late sister by beating and at times locking her outside the compound.

“That when the complains became too much, one of their sisters from the east, came down to Abuja and took the late sister Osinachi with her two children back to the family house in the east but after sometime, they resolved the issue and the family came back to his house and continued staying as husband and wife.”

He further narrated that as time went on, the late Osinachi Nwachukwu stopped reporting the attitude of the husband to the family and only told some of her close friends that sometime in 2022 last year,  the same late Osinachi Nwachukwu called Mr Godwin Madu the brother, that she’s not feeling fine and when he visited the house with intention to see her but was prevented by the defendant denying him to knowing the living condition of the sister as of then.

He continued that: “The family later got information that she was at admission at National Hospital Abuja, the same Mr Madu Godwin, visited her in the hospital. Then on the 8th of April 2022, the defendant called Madu Godwin to inform him that his sister is late while on the hospital bed and he deposited the corpse in the same hospital mortuary, that the family are interested to know what really killed their sister.

“Based on the above complains stated, the defendant was invited and brought to my office and that is how I got to know him. Immediately he was brought before me, I interviewed him based on the complains made against him and he confirmed that the late Osinachi is his legally wedded wife. That since when they married she had no history of any sickness, that they had disagreement and resolved their differences at home.

“He told me that he has never used any object to beat her not until sometime November 2021, she started complaining of chest pain, she was taken to the Federal Medical Centre Jabi receiving treatment of ulcer, later the pains continued, after a little bit of walk, she becomes weak. Tests were conducted on her where it came out of having the cancer of the lungs; then from there she was referred to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada and subsequently transferred to National Hospital around February 2022.

“While receiving treatment there, she eventually died on the 8th of April in the same hospital and he deposited the corpse at the mortuary. After interviewing both of them, a voluntary statement was recorded for the complainant in English language by one of my team members Sergeant Daniel, I also recorded a voluntarily statement for the defendant, all in English language.

“Later I took them to my DPO for a split interview. The following day being 11 April 2022, one of my team leader Human Inspector Samuel took additional statement of the defendant voluntarily in English language it was read to them and he signed.”

While giving his testimony, Prosecution counsel Aderonke Imana, sought to tender statements as exhibits, having no objection from the defence counsel, Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme marked P1 and P2 for both the complainant and defendant, both were tendered as exhibits P1a and P1b. Also, the Nigerian Police statement of complainant were admitted and marked as exhibit P2.

Continuing his testimony, Ahmed said, “Immediately we received the complaint, a team of operatives from the Lugbe police station, I inclusive headed by the DPO, went to the residence of the defendant behind Aco police station Airport Road Abuja, where he was invited and brought to the station without any resistance.

“We received a directive from the state headquarters, FCT command headquarters that the case file and defendant should be transferred to state headquarters CID department, FCT Command Abuja for further investigation and I complied immediately.”

During cross-examination by defence counsel I.A Aliyu, the IPO said he didn’t visit the scene or even the hospital where the defendant’s wife died. He added that he didn’t  know the cause of her death, and with the little findings he made, it had to do with knowing and establishing the facts.

After listening to all the testimonies, the trial Judge Nwosu-Iheme, adjourned the matter to 18 January, 2023 for continuation of hearing.