On April 8, 2022, Nwachukwu was convicted of culpable homicide resulting in the death of his wife. The court found that the prosecution had successfully met its burden of proof, leading to the defendant’s guilty verdict.
Nwachukwu was arraigned on June 3, 2022, by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF) on behalf of the Federal Government, facing a 23-count charge. The charges included culpable homicide punishable by death, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, spousal battery, and other offenses.
During the trial, the prosecution presented 17 witnesses, including two of the late Osinachi’s children, who testified as the fourth and fifth prosecution witnesses (PW4 and PW5). The prosecution also introduced 25 documents as evidence. In his defense, Nwachukwu testified and called four additional witnesses, submitting four exhibits.
In his allocutus, shortly before sentencing, Nwachukwu’s counsel, Reginald Nwali, pleaded for leniency in the court’s judgment. Meanwhile, the prosecution’s counsel, Mrs. Aderonke Imala, urged the court to uphold the law as prescribed.
In the final ruling, Justice Nwosu-Iheme sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on Count 1 for culpable homicide. For other offenses, he was sentenced to two years in prison each for Counts 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 18. He received a six-month prison sentence for Count 10 and a three-year sentence for Count 11. Additionally, he was fined N500,000 for Count 6 and N200,000 for Count 7.
