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Tag: Osinachi

  • AFCON 2025 : ‘Nacional hero’ Osinachi backs Super Eagles for glory

    AFCON 2025 : ‘Nacional hero’ Osinachi backs Super Eagles for glory

    Christian Ebere Osinachi wrote himself into immortality in November when he delivered  to Club Nacional de Football their much coveted  50th coveted  Uruguayan League title. The  27-year-old scored the back-breaking solitary winner  for his side deep into the added time of the play-off  tie  against rival club, Atlético Peñarol in a thrilling final before a delirious capacity crowd  that saw his  114th  minute  match-winning  strike at the Gran Parque Central Stadium in Montevideo.  But the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup winner with the Golden Eaglets in a recent conversation with MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN  believes the Super Eagles can break all odds at the on-going  Africa Cup of Nations  in Morocco to give the country  another  major silverware…

    FIFA  U-17 World Cup winner,  Christian Ebere Osinachi,  has thrown his weight  behind the  Super Eagles’ quest  to  win  their  long-awaited  fourth  Africa Cup of Nations title at the on-going  continental showpiece in  Morocco.

    Nigeria  have been crowned  champions thrice  in 1980, 1994 and  2013 and the Super Eagles  are seeking to end a 12-year title drought after  finishing  as runners-up in the last edition  in Cote d’Ivoire. But  Osinachi  who stars for Uruguayan side, Club Nacional de Football, said Super Eagles  will need to overcome their recent  setback in the CAF Play-Offs for the 2026  FIFA World  Cup where they lost the  only  available ticket to the Inter-Continental Play-Offs to the Congo Democratic Republic  last November.

    “Yeah , it’s true  that  the Nigeria recently  lost to  the Congo DR  in the FIFA World Cup  qualification play-off  but I think  the Super Eagles have another opportunity to make Nigerians happy and  proud again by  winning  the AFCON,” Osinachi who has excelled  across clubs in South  America, told Nation’s Sports. “I think Nigeria can  make it because we have the players.

     “Nigeria have the players to compete and make it to the finals; and also to win it because last time, the Super Eagles got to the final and unfortunately  lost to Cote d’Ivoire .

     “But  now, I think Nigeria can do it,  Yes,  I think Nigeria can do it,” he affirmed.

    Tomorrow, the  Super Eagles  will  play their decisive second  match at the on-going  Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON, Morocco 2025,  against Tunisia’s  Eagles of Carthage in Fez with some of Osinachi’s  former teammates  at the U-17 level including  the striking duo of Victor Osimhen  and Samuel Chukwueze expected to be in the thick of action.  Osinachi  said not being part of the team  is not an indication  that players like him who feature  for clubs  in South America  are not good enough to wear the national team colours at the senior level.

     “ I’m really  very happy  that I have  now some of my ex-teammates from  the U-17 level and I’m talking about  Osimhen and Chukwueze ,” he continued. “ But I’m not  disappointed that I have not been able to play for the Super Eagles.

    “I last represented Nigeria  at the  U-17 and since then, they have not called me for the Super Eagles. I also have the hunger to play  for the Super Eagles.

     “Often,  my teammates always ask ‘why  is it that they don’t  call you for the Super Eagles?’  They feel that I need to be in the Super Eagles  because they usually watch Nigeria matches even as  recent as  when we lost to Congo DR  in the Play-offs.

     “ So, I’m equally waiting for the opportunity  and if I get the chance today, I will be ready to give my best.”

    Having  featured  across clubs in Argentina, Brazil and now in  Uruguay,  Osinachi  would be the  first to admit that playing in the  South American leagues  is not a child’s play, adding  it’s about time that   national team’s handlers  bore that searchlight   on that side of the globe too.

    “ Playing  in South America  is not  an easy task,” Osinachi who has been listed  for as many as 10 South American clubs across Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, revealed. “ South American league is  not a league  that you’ll be given  so much space to  just do anything you want ; it’s hard and tough. No room for excessive  dribbles rather  you have to  very think fast on the ball.

     “Here it’s more intensive  and I think they )Super Eagles’ technical crew), need to  watch some players some of those players in South America  because  they are as  good as players in Europe.

     “ I think the national team’s handlers  don’t look at players in the south American leagues  but not  knowing  that players  from the South American leagues play  more intensive football  than most other  people playing in Europe.”

     “ In fact, I can tell you for free that  players in South America  play more intensive football  than players in Europe because our football here is hard. It’s not an  easy football.

     “So, they need to watch more of South American football too. I know it is very far is very far from Nigeria  and maybe that’s why they don’t watch or see players from  here in South America  whereas Europe is close to Nigeria.

    “I want to believe  they  don’t watch the South American league s as well as  the Libertadores, the Champions League of South America. They don’t watch all those competitions.

    “ My teammates at Nacional know how  good  and strong; that I’m a fighter on the  ball; I have the speed  and I think I can  also  make the difference with the Super Eagles.

     “ They shouldn’t look down on players in the South American leagues  because  players in that region has a lot on intensity  than even players in Europe,” added Osinachi  as he  speaks on other sundry issues. Excerpts…

    On winning the 2015  FIFA U-17 World Cup

    Yes, you are right, it’s 10 years  this year since won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile  and it’s always a great memory to recall. I was so happy to be part of the team  and happy to have won the World Cup  at the first opportunity at that level. The memory of representing my country was great  and playing alongside some of my teammates  especially Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze , Kelechi Nwakali, Kingsley Michael , Orji Okoronkwo, Ndidi Anumudu   and the rest, it was just simply great . Of course, it was equally great playing under Coach Emmanuel Amuneke as well as the other members of the coaching crew and backroom staff. Although so many things happened along the way but i really thank God how everything went ….because we won the World Cup. I was very, very happy.

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    On not going to Europe after World Cup conquest in Chile

    After the FIFA U-17  World Cup in Chile, I  actually had a club to sign for  in Belgium  but what happened was that my ex-manager had an issue with the team’s  director, something like that. So they had an issue and I was really angry because that was a good opportunity for me to start. Because some of my teammates were also going to Europe and that was a good opportunity for me to start in Europe too. But because of the issue that they had, I lost that opportunity. My ex-manager told me that I should go to Nigeria and stay and that he was going to get a new club for me.  But ‘I said no’ because I needed to play football and I don’t want to stay back in Nigeria and start waiting for some contracts. That was how I moved to go to South America, being Rosario Central in Argentina. I started my career there, playing in the youth team. So from there I went to Brazil and here I’m today in Uruguay.

    On being called different names in Argentina

    When i arrived in Argentina, some called me Lukaku while some also called  me Mbappé because I have the force  and i have the speed ; so it is because of these two abilities  that  my teammates call me so many names. I  have no problem  with that if they are calling me the names because of my playing abilities  and not because they wanted to make jokes out of me. So, it feels good because they are  calling me those names because I’m strong, I’m fast with the ball.

    On playing across clubs in South America

    I have had outstanding experiences playing  across clubs in  South America. In Brazil, they  play more with tactics  and techniques while in both Argentina and Uruguay,  they play with both techniques and force (power). But I must confess that I’m  really enjoying  playing in  Nacional  just as I  enjoyed  playing at Clube  Plaza Colonia in Argentina. Frankly, I have enjoyed playing in virtually all the clubs in these three countries  because I’m that guy that always  make my fellow teammates happy. I’m always happy with my teammates. I always cheer them up and all that, yeah.

    On the  ‘One-derful’ cup-winning goal  for Nacional

    I scored the goal that gave the Nacional the league title  and I felt so happy.  I feel great because the league title meant a lot for us, not only me but my teammates. Because the name on  the League Cup is dedicated to  one of  our  former teammates who lost his life while  playing for Nacional. Interestingly , he had  also previously played for our opponents in that final (Atlético Peñarol)  but  we wanted  to win the cup for him. So , we did it for him. But personally,  I feel great scoring the winning goal  that gave Nacional the victory. I feel so happy, excited  because that was a wonderful  goal  which  makes me feel great representing the club. Nacional is a good club and they are one of the big clubs in South America.  The fans they love me and I also love them too because they always cheer me up and all that. So it was great for me. It was something great, something that I will not forget. And even the club also will not forget.

    On close affinity with his mother.

    Yes, it’s true that I’m very close to my mum because I’m the last born and I was also with my mum while   I was growing up with my siblings.  Even while others will go out, I  was always staying with my mum and that was how I was able to know how to do many house chores. She’s my prayer warrior ;  she had done a lot to support my football  career though  initially she didn’t  want me to play football. She wanted me to study  and  never wanted me to play football because of the  experience of my dad . My dad actually played football but never made it  professionally.  So, my mum was  scared  that I might also  waste my time  going on that route with football. But along the line,  I asked one of my uncles to speak with my mum  that after football I’ll still study  and that I’ll make her proud.  That   was how my mum accepted and started supporting me…by giving me money to buy boots  and she was always  there checking on me especially  when I travel outside the state for  tournaments . She played a very great role in my career  and what I’ve become today.

    On  marriage

    Of course, I will get married  but not yet because I have not seen  the ‘special one’. But some day, I will get married and I think very soon, I will be there (laughter).

  • Osinachi: Does killing a killer kill justice?

    Osinachi: Does killing a killer kill justice?

    By David Bassey Antia

    The recent judicial pronouncement sentencing Peter Nwachukwu, husband of the late gospel singer Osinachi, to death by hanging has reignited the perennial debate surrounding capital punishment in Nigeria. Citizens, scholars, and legal minds have waded into the fray with varying degrees of moral and legal fervour, yet the discourse continues to swing like a pendulum—between vengeance and virtue—without adequate analytical depth or jurisprudential clarity. While abolitionists have spared little effort in introspective concession, the retentionists have shown equal reluctance to critically engage the merits of their counterparts’ propositions.

    This pendulum, in my view, swings with too great a momentum to permit repose at the median of reason. At one extreme lies the call for vengeance, where retributive justice is exalted; at the other, a demand for virtue and moral transcendence. Yet I contend that the claim made by abolitionists—that the eradication of the death penalty is the litmus test for a society’s passage from primal instinct to civilization—is a progressive fallacy, a label I assert without equivocation.

    Empirically, more lives are lost to homicide than to war. According to the United Nations, approximately 464,000 people were murdered globally in 2017, far exceeding the 89,000 deaths attributed to armed conflict within the same period. The execution of a convicted murderer sends a resounding message that the sanctity of the innocent life taken makes the ultimate sanction both warranted and symbolic. No indulgence must be granted to euphemisms that diminish the sacredness of life under the guise of moral posturing.

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    Punishment, in this context, is not a barbaric relic but a societal response to the catalytic instinct to offend. It serves to slow the instinctual metabolism that spurs the commission of crime. It operates as a neutral but potent force, imposed to assuage the public’s moral indignation and to mark—visibly and unequivocally—the collective revulsion towards heinous conduct. Thus, capital punishment, while partly deterrent, is fundamentally retributive. He who takes life must forfeit his own.

    But before I cast my philosophical net around the abolitionist argument and allow it to drown in the sea of insignificance, it is prudent to offer a jurisprudential exposition on the legal architecture of the death penalty.

    Capital punishment, by definition, is the legally sanctioned execution of a person as punishment for a crime deemed capital in nature. According to Section 36(12) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, only offences defined in written law may attract penal consequences. Offences attracting capital punishment include those stipulated under Sections 37 and 319 of the Criminal Code Act (Cap C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004), and Sections 221 and 411 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act (Cap P3, Laws of the Federation, 2004). These offences include murder, armed robbery, and treason.

    Exemptions exist. Pregnant women, under Section 404 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and persons under 17 years of age, as reaffirmed in Madupe v. State (1988) 4 NWLR (Pt. 87), are constitutionally and judicially shielded from capital punishment. The Supreme Court in that case held that it is legally impermissible to sentence to death anyone under 17 at the time of the offence.

    Further, the courts have consistently upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty. In Adeniji v. State (1998) 14 NWLR 584, the Court of Appeal declared that the death penalty is expressly provided for in Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this position in Kalu v. State (1998) 13 NWLR 531 and Okoro v. State (2000) 49 NWLR 356, holding that capital punishment and its method of execution remain lawful and valid, sanctioned by both Sections 33(1) and 34(1)(a) of the Constitution.

    Hence, it is imperative to clarify that the death penalty has not been abolished in Nigeria. Its legality stands assailed, unmoved by the abstract arguments of those who deal in normative wishfulness. Capital punishment remains an integral feature of Nigeria’s criminal justice system.

    It is also critical to emphasize the procedural role of the executive in the administration of capital sentences. In Ajulu & Ors v. Attorney General of Lagos State, the Federal High Court restrained the execution of five condemned inmates, noting that execution warrants must be duly signed by the state governor.

    For a conviction in a murder trial that carries a death sentence, the prosecution must establish the following elements: (a) That the deceased is dead; (b) and (c) That the death resulted from the act or omission of the accused.

    And that the act or omission was intentional and calculated with the knowledge that death or grievous harm was a likely outcome. See Okeke v. State (1999) 2 NWLR (Pt. 590) 273.

    The standard of proof remains “beyond reasonable doubt” as required by Section 135 of the Evidence Act, 2011. As held in Isah v. State (2018) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1621) 346 and Itodo v. State (2020) 1 NWLR (Pt. 1704) 1, the evidence must leave no room for reasonable doubt—not all doubt, but any doubt that a reasonable person could entertain.

    Historically, the African worldview—including Nigerian customary traditions—has recognized the death penalty for murder, notwithstanding the formal abolition of customary criminal offences by Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution. The lex talionis principle (“an eye for an eye”) finds its roots not just in tradition but in sacred texts such as Exodus 21. Immanuel Kant himself affirmed the necessity of capital punishment for murder, arguing that punishment must be proportionate to the crime—and death is the only proportionate response to the taking of life.

    It is a judicial safeguard, not anachronism, that murder is distinguished from manslaughter in order to ensure that the death penalty is not blindly applied. Cases where intent is lacking are rightly spared from the noose.

    To assert, therefore, that capital punishment is archaic is to yield uncritically to the tides of liberal modernity. One might ask: if capital punishment fails to eliminate crime, should we then abolish all punishments, since theft, rape, and fraud persist despite criminal sanctions? Such reasoning collapses under its own weight.

    Amnesty International reported 579 executions in 18 countries in 2021, a 20% increase from 2020. As of that year, 56 countries still retain capital punishment; 111 have abolished it entirely. That global diversity reflects not backwardness but sovereignty of moral judgment rooted in unique legal traditions and societal needs.

     I submit unequivocally—that Nigeria should retain the death penalty within her criminal jurisprudence. When an innocent life is extinguished, a crime against humanity has been committed. Though the victim cannot demand justice, society can and must. Justice, as Aristotle would say, is giving each their due. And due process, as ratified by constitutional jurisprudence, demands that the ultimate crime warrants the ultimate punishment.

    Not all practices of our ancestors are to be discarded. Let us not be too eager to embrace liberal idealism at the expense of introspection. The emotion of vengeance, often caricatured, is in fact foundational to the rule of law. It is what prevents self-help and underpins the legitimacy of state-sanctioned justice. If the state monopolizes coercive power, it must wield it justly—and sometimes, justly means finally.

    The abolition of the death penalty would not mark an evolution of justice, but its asphyxiation.

    •Antia is of Topfaith University, Mkpatak, Akwa Ibom State.

  • Gospel singer Osinachi’s husband sentenced to death by hanging

    Gospel singer Osinachi’s husband sentenced to death by hanging

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in  Wuse Zone 2, Abuja yesterday sentenced Peter Nwachukwu, husband of late gospel singer, Osinachi, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of culpable homicide in relation to the wife’s  death on April 8, 2022.

    Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme, in a judgment, held that the prosecution effectively discharged the burden of proof placed on it by the law by establishing the defendant’s culpability.

    Justice Nwosu-Iheme further held that the prosecution, through evidence led, established that Mr. Nwachukwu was responsible for the death of his wife.

    The judge proceeded to find him guilty of the offence of culpable homicide and some other offences.

    The judge noted that in proving culpable homicide under the Penal Code Law, the prosecution must prove that the deceased died, the death was caused by the defendant and that the defendant’s action was intentional.

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    Justice Nwosu-Iheme held  that the prosecution was able to successfully prove the elements of culpable homicide against Nwachukwu, adding that the defence also confirmed that the deceased died.

    She noted that contrary to the defendant’s claim that the deceased had cancer, the one of the prosecution witness (PW15) testified before the court that though the late singer had cancer, it was not at advanced stage and did not lead to her death.

    The judge held that though the evidence of children under 18 years must be corroborated by other evidence, the deceased’s children, in their testimonies, informed the court that their father always subjected their mother to beatings and often refused to give her money to go to hospital for treatment.  

  • Gospel singer Osinachi’s husband sentenced to death by hanging

    Gospel singer Osinachi’s husband sentenced to death by hanging

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in  Wuse Zone 2, Abuja yesterday sentenced Peter Nwachukwu, husband of late gospel singer, Osinachi, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of culpable homicide in relation to the wife’s  death on April 8, 2022.

    Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme, in a judgment, held that the prosecution effectively discharged the burden of proof placed on it by the law by establishing the defendant’s culpability.

    Justice Nwosu-Iheme further held that the prosecution, through evidence led, established that Mr. Nwachukwu was responsible for the death of his wife.

    The judge proceeded to find him guilty of the offence of culpable homicide and some other offences.

    The judge noted that in proving culpable homicide under the Penal Code Law, the prosecution must prove that the deceased died, the death was caused by the defendant and that the defendant’s action was intentional.

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    Justice Nwosu-Iheme held  that the prosecution was able to successfully prove the elements of culpable homicide against Nwachukwu, adding that the defence also confirmed that the deceased died.

    She noted that contrary to the defendant’s claim that the deceased had cancer, the one of the prosecution witness (PW15) testified before the court that though the late singer had cancer, it was not at advanced stage and did not lead to her death.

    The judge held that though the evidence of children under 18 years must be corroborated by other evidence, the deceased’s children, in their testimonies, informed the court that their father always subjected their mother to beatings and often refused to give her money to go to hospital for treatment.

  • UPDATED: Court hands death sentence to late gospel singer Osinachi’s husband

    UPDATED: Court hands death sentence to late gospel singer Osinachi’s husband

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in  Wuse Zone 2, Abuja on Monday sentenced Peter Nwachukwu, husband of late gospel singer, Osinachi, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of culpable homicide in relation to the wife’s  death on April 8, 2022.

    Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme, in a judgment on Monday, held that the prosecution effectively discharged the burden of proof placed on it by the law by establishing the defendant’s culpability.

    Justice Nwosu-Iheme further held that the prosecution, through evidence led, established Nwachukwu was responsible for the death of his wife.

    The judge proceeded to find him guilty of the offence of culpable homicide and some other offences.

    The judge noted that in proving culpable homicide under the Penal Code Law, the prosecution must prove that the deceased died, the death was caused by the defendant and that the defendant’s action was intentional. 

    Justice Nwosu-Iheme held  that the prosecution was able to successfully prove the elements of culpable homicide against Nwachukwu, adding that the defence also confirmed that the deceased died. 

    She noted that contrary to the defendant’s claim that the deceased had cancer, the one of the prosecution witness (PW15) testified before the court that though the late singer had cancer, it was not at advanced stage and did not lead to her death. 

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    The judge held that though the evidence of children under 18 years must be corroborated by other evidence, the deceased’s children, in their testimonies, informed the court that their father always subjected their mother to beatings and often refused to give her money to go to hospital for treatment. 

    She further noted that the convict did not stop at torturing the late singer, her further extended his cruelty to the children, who testified that he constantly beat them.

    The judge described the convict’s behaviour as “animalistic and sadistic” and proceeded to hold that the children’s evidence before the court was corroborated by other prosecution witnesses, including her tailor and hairdresser, both of whom confirmed that the defendant was used to beating his wife and calling her unprintable names, including idiot. 

    Justice Nwosu-Iheme noted that despite knowing that his wife had cancer, Nwachukwu still subjected her to physical and psychological torture, including constant beatings.

    The judge was of the view that the animalistic and sadistic behaviour of the convict, despite knowing her health status, caused her death. 

    She held that the defence led  by the defendant was insufficient to exonerate him.

    The judge blamed Osinachi’s family and the church for contributing to the abuse that the deceased was subjected to by the husband.

    She was of the view that the culture of silence in the face of abuse was bad.

    The judge struck out some counts in the charge on the grounds that they were duplicated but convicted him on others, which related to economic abuse, spousal battering, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, criminal intimidation of children. 

    Immediately after the judge pronounced his guilt, the defence lawyer, Reginald Nwali pleaded with the court to be lenient in sentencing the defendant.

    Responding, lawyer to the prosecution, Aderonke Imana urged the court to give force to the law as stipulated.

    Justice Nwosu-Iheme  sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on count one.

    The judge sentenced to two years imprisonment each on counts two, three, eight, nine, 12, 13, and 18.

    She proceeded to sentenced the defendant to six months imprisonment on count 10 and  three years imprisonment on count 11, 

    The judge also handed him fines of  N500,000 and N200,000 in relation to counts six and seven.

    The defendant, who was arraigned on June 3, 2022 was prosecuted by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF) on a 23-count charge .

    He was charged among others, with culpable homicide punishable with death, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, criminal intimidation of children and spousal battering.

    In the course of trial, the prosecution called 17 witnesses and tendered 25 documents in evidence.

    Among the witnesses called by the prosecution were two children of the couple, who testified as the 4th and 5th prosecution witnesses.

    The defendant called five witnesses, including himself and four others. He also tendered four exhibits in his defence.

  • BREAKING: Court sentences Gospel singer Osinachi’s husband to death

    BREAKING: Court sentences Gospel singer Osinachi’s husband to death

    A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, has sentenced Peter Nwachukwu, the husband of gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu, to death by hanging.

    Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme delivered the verdict on Monday, finding Nwachukwu guilty of culpable homicide.

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    Osinachi died in April 2022, and the case drew widespread attention due to allegations of domestic violence.

    The court also handed down additional prison sentences and fines for other charges related to the case.