By Emeka Alex Duru
(08054103327, nwaukpala@yahoo.com)
Until her death and the accompanying gory details, I was not familiar with the late Nigerian gospel singer, Osinachi Nwachukwu. Though in course of movements on the job, I had headed Group Life Desk in Daily Independent Newspapers, during which Entertainment was among the beats I supervised, I was not particularly good at fraternizing with artists.
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But I considered Osinachi’s song, ‘Ekwueme’, a hit, not only for the rich lessons in the lyrics but for the tinge of masculinity in the voice. I saw in her, a younger version of, Onyeka Onwenu, the Elegant Stallion, who I admire extensively. Kaduna terror attacks: We are all victims
When therefore the news of her passage broke, it was totally unexpected. The immediate reaction was a feeling of loss, a prayer for the repose of her noble soul; a prayer for her family to bear the irreparable loss. I felt for the children, I felt for the husband – a fellow man who I pitied over the misfortune of being a widower at such a young stage in their marriage.
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But when allegations began to swirl around the husband, Peter Nwachukwu, being responsible for her death, I was torn between pity for the poor woman that went down in violent death and anguish at the man for being fingered in her gruesome end. The confusion is yet to settle.
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The ugly details of Osinachi’s death, brought to mind of the pathetic story of Hanifa Abubakar, the five-year-old child that was killed by the proprietor of her school, Abdulmalik Tanko, in Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, in December last year.
Tanko, abducted Hanifa on December 2, and took her to his house. He later contacted her family, demanding a ransom of N6 million. Despite collecting N100, 000 as part of the ransom, he still went ahead to kill the innocent girl.
The beast of a man dismembered the little girl after killing her with rat poison he bought at N100 (some say, N10) and then buried her remains in a shallow grave on the
