From international scholarly journal, we are opportune to know a little about the historicity of the use of death penalty amongst members of the human race and the debate that has followed thereof.

The Practiced for much, if not all, of human history, the death penalty (also called capital punishment) is the “execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense,” according to Roger Hood, professor at the Centre for Criminological Research at the University of Oxford. [1]

It also told us that Amnesty International listed the United States as just one of 55 countries globally with a legal death penalty for “ordinary” crimes in 2024. Another nine countries reserved the death penalty for “exceptional crimes such as crimes under military law or crimes committed in exceptional circumstances.” Meanwhile, 112 countries have abolished the death penalty legally and 23 have abolished the punishment in practice. [2]

By early 2025, 23 U.S. states had the death penalty; three had the death penalty but had imposed moratoriums, halting executions; one had the death penalty but had imposed an unofficial moratorium until updated execution protocol is available; and 23 states and Washington, D.C., had abolished the death penalty. The punishment, however, remains legal at the federal level. Since 2003, capital punishment of federal prisoners has been used only in 2020 and 2021, during the administration of President Donald Trump, when 13 men were executed. Prior to 2020 the federal government had executed three people since 1963, all under President George W. Bush. That group included Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in 2001. [3][4][5][6]

According to 2022 and 2023 Gallup polls, 55 percent of Americans believed the death penalty should be legal and 60 percent saw the punishment as morally acceptable. By November 14, 2024, support had fallen to 53 percent, with a noticeable lack of support among younger generations, according to Gallup. Concerning which age groups approve of capital punishment, while a majority of the older Silent Generation (62 percent), Baby Boomers (61 percent), and Gen Xers (58 percent) support the death penalty, only a minority of the younger Millennials / Gen Yers (47 percent) and Gen Zers (42 percent) support the penalty. [7][119](source Encyclopedia Britannica). The debate around the use of the death penalty is raging in Nigeria. It got reignited with the sentencing to death by hanging of the killer husband of the Gospel artist Mrs. Osinachi, the lady that popularised the song EKWUEME.

Late gospel singer, Osinachi’s husband sentenced to death by hanging:

Peter Nwachukwu, husband of late popular gospel singer, Osinachi, has been sentenced to death by hanging.

Justice Nwosu-Iheme of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting at Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, passed the sentence on Peter Nwachukwu on Monday.

The court sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging having found him guilty of culpable homicide resulting in the death of his wife, Osinachi, on April 8, 2022.

The judge, in her judgement, held that the prosecution has proven the burden of proof.

Nwachukwu was brought before the court on June 3, 2022 over a 23-count charge bordering on homicide, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children and spouse, criminal intimidation of children and spousal battery, filed against him by the Office of Attorney-General of the Federation, OAGF.

During the trial, the prosecution presented 17 witnesses, including the deceased’s two children, who testified PW4 and PW5.

The prosecution also submitted 25 documents as evidence.

Nwachukwu testified in his own defence. His lawyers called four other witnesses and tendered four exhibits in his defence.

Before the sentencing on Monday, Nwachukwu’s lawyer Reginald Nwali asked the court for mercy. But the prosecutor, Mrs Aderonke Imala, urged the court to apply full force and impose stipulated penalities.

Justice Nwosu-Iheme subsequently sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on count 1. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment each on counts 2, 3, 8,9, 12, 13 and 18.

The court sentenced him to six months imprisonment on count 10, three years imprisonment on count 11, while he was fined the sum of N500,000 and N200,000 respectively on counts 6 and 7, respectively.

The sentencing judge is a very young but immensely beautiful girl. If I’m not mistaken, she is the daughter of Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Justice Nwosu-Iheme was the Chairman of the judicial panel that investigated the invasion of some villages by soldiers and the killing of over 100 civilians over alleged killing of 16 soldiers. This was during President Olusegun Obasanjo era. I was a correspondent of The Guardian and I covered the proceedings. Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme is thorough and cut out a no-nonsense posture. She is not afraid to handle difficult cases and she has had to pay for her courageous adjudication of highly complex cases when she was kidnapped by terrorists for days and was rescued. So her daughter must have inherited her strong-willed character and charisma. She it was who passed the death sentence that has reignited the death penalty debate. Some argue that it was too harsh to sentence the killer husband to death because of the children because if the father is killed for killing the wife it means the children are orphans. I argued that letting the man escape this commensurate legal sanction is inappropriate because it is clear that he was already dead in the minds of his children whose mother he killed. It will be too difficult for these children whose mother was killed by their father to totally forget about that part of their sad history. A dad who deprived his children of the loving presence of motherhood, deserves to die by hanging as far as I’m concerned. But some persons think otherwise. Rather than show sympathy, we should emphasise more on stopping wives from being killed by their husbands because this scourge is a disturbing phenomenon that keeps growing in Nigeria. Also, many women that have been killed by their lovers or husbands have not got justice. Osinachi got justice because her cruel and gruesome death in the hands of her husband gained media traction and for the first time, Nigerians kept the topic alive for over a year. Unlike Nigerians that would express outrage over killings of citizens and after 3 days they forget the matter and life returns to business as usual. But this Gospel artist had millions of her fans pained by her untimely murder by her husband. Her husband’s imminent execution if it will ever happen, has divided opinions further.

Gender advocates hail death sentence for late Osinachi’s husband:

Some gender advocates have welcomed the ruling of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, on Monday, sentencing Peter Nwachukwu, the husband of the late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu, to death by hanging.
The court delivered the sentence after finding Nwachukwu guilty of culpable homicide, which resulted in the death of the deceased (Osinachi) on April 8, 2022.
The trial judge, Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme, in her ruling, held that the prosecution had successfully discharged the burden of proof required by law and subsequently found the defendant guilty.
Nwachukwu was arraigned on June 3, 2022, by the Attorney-General of the Federation on behalf of the Federal Government.
He faced a 23-count charge that included culpable homicide punishable by death, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, spousal battery, and other related offences.
During the trial, the prosecution called 17 witnesses, including two children of the late gospel singer, who testified as the fourth and fifth prosecution witnesses (PW4 and PW5).
The prosecution also presented 25 documents as exhibits before the court.

For the defence, the defendant testified on his behalf and called four other witnesses, while also tendering four exhibits.
Before sentencing, Nwachukwu’s counsel, Reginald Nwali, in his plea for mercy (allocutus), urged the court to show leniency in its judgment.
However, the prosecuting counsel, Mrs Aderonke Imala, urged the court to enforce the full weight of the law.
Justice Nwosu-Iheme subsequently sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on Count 1.
Additionally, he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment each on Counts 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 18.

The court also sentenced the defendant to six months’ imprisonment on Count 10, three years’ imprisonment on Count 11, and imposed fines of N500,000 and N200,000 on Counts 6 and 7, respectively.
Speaking on the ruling, gender rights activist and founder of DOHS Cares Foundation, Ololade Ajayi, described the verdict as satisfactory, saying it sends a strong warning to potential offenders.

Speaking to the media, Ajayi labelled Osinachi’s death a case of femicide, stressing that it resulted from a series of violent acts rather than a single incident.
She said, “This victory is personal and satisfactory for us at DOHS Cares. It sends a strong message to perpetrators who, one way or another, intentionally kill their wives. This is a clear case of femicide — violence against a woman with the intent to kill. It is rarely a one-off incident, but usually a pattern of abuse that eventually leads to death.”
Ajayi, however, urged the judiciary to fast-track similar cases to ensure timely justice for victims.
She also called on the government to provide support for the children of victims.
“The only concern is that the trial took too long. Moving forward, there should be speedy trials and swift judgments. In addition, the government must make provisions to support the children left behind, helping them heal from the trauma. This is part of what we have proposed in our Feminine Bill currently before the National Assembly,” she added.
Similarly, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and gender rights activist, Prof. Joy Ezeilo, hailed the judgment as a landmark ruling that offers hope to victims of gender-based violence.
Reacting on X.com, Ezeilo wrote, “Justice has finally been served for the late gospel singer Osinachi, as the FCT High Court convicted and sentenced her husband, Peter Nwachukwu, for her tragic death in April 2022.

“This landmark ruling not only serves as a deterrent to potential offenders but also gives hope to victims of gender-based violence, encouraging them to speak out.
“The mother and the twin sibling now raising the three children who endured this trauma deserve our unwavering support. Let this victory for justice spark lasting change and better protection for all.”

So this matter is divisive but for once justice was served very hot by the Abuja high court and by the daughter of a feared senior jurist in Nigeria. This judge has made her illustrious mum proud. However, it may take a long time to see him killed because the Nigerian politicians are too afraid to sign off the death penalty authorisation due to pressures from the UN and Amnesty International. But moratorium from executing death penalty inmates hasn’t solved the serious cases of killings of citizens by terrorists and beasts in the forms of human beings.

Emmanuel Onwubiko Writes From Abuja.