Osinachi: Why religious institutions must frown on cases of abuse

Osinachi

Peter Nwachukwu, the husband of late gospel artiste, Osinachi, has been arrested by the police over the death of his wife.

Osinachi, aged 42, died Friday after spending days at an undisclosed hospital in Abuja.

According to Punch Newspaper, Peter was arrested on Sunday afternoon.

The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, is reported to have confirmed the development.

She said, “He is now in our custody. The younger brother of the deceased reported the matter and we have commenced investigation.”

Development after Osinachi’s death

The family of the late “Ekwueme” singer denied reports that she died of cancer, saying she had a blood clot after being assaulted by her husband.

Osinachi’s sister, who is the first daughter of the family and was identified as Ms Favor Made, Sunday, said that Osinachi died as a result of a clot of blood in the chest. 

“We heard it was cancer that killed Osinachi. She did not die of cancer. The husband, Mr Peter Nwachukwu hit her with his leg on the chest. All this while, he has been beating her but my sister hides all that she was passing through from us,” she said, according to Daily Post.

She said the family had advised Osinachi to leave the marriage but she prayed that God would change her husband.

“We told her that they are not divorcing and that it’s just a separation. But she felt that God is against divorce. We told her that separation is not a sin but just for her to stay alive and take care of her children. She will always tell us to relax and that the man will change.

“So, when the man kicked her in the chest, she fell down and he took her to the hospital but he did not even tell us,” she said. 

Colleagues of Osinachi, who was a lead singer at the Dunamis International Headquarters, Abuja, accused her husband of beating her.

A gospel singer, Frank Edwards, in a live Instagram video, alleged that Osinachi’s husband abused her on several occasions.

He said, “One time in a studio, this man slapped her just because she wanted to record the song in Igbo against his will. She does not do anything on her own.

“She would say, please beg my husband. She was at his mercy. I didn’t know the intensity of what she was going through; I didn’t know how somebody would be jealous of the wife he claimed to love.

“There are a lot of stories where people told her this and that, but what I know was that the control was too much. The other time somebody wanted me to get her for an event, and I contacted her, but she said ‘beg my husband.’

“She couldn’t even tell people what she was going through. I only got to know because Aunty Joy contacted me to promote her song. That was when I got a glimpse into what was happening.”

Yet another gospel artiste, Asu Ekiye, called for the arrest of her husband.

He said, “If what I hear about domestic abuse is anything to go by, then I hereby endorse the call for the arrest of the husband of Osinachi immediately for questioning.”

The impact of religion in continuing abuse

Osinachi is believed to have been a strong believer in the Christian faith, reason she believed God was against divorce. Also reason she may have refused separation – even though that has ‘societal culture of tolerance’ all over it.

Marriage in the bible is referred to as an indissoluble relationship except on the highest grounds

Matthew 19:9

Many times, clerics preach that women should be “submissive” to their husbands as the Holy Book assumedly says. Added to this is the spread of the supposed truth that prayer can change the hearts of any human being who is an abuser.

In this sense, victims of abuse stay in toxic relationships and wait for God to take control. As with Osinachi, the victim stays silent and the control stays with the abuser until death.

Religion also preaches forgiveness and tolerance, especially in marriage, when “they can settle their differences and be good again.”

For instance, Bible verses about forgiveness pave the way for forgiving each other in the marriage, such that one will not look at the other person as a sinner but as a person requiring forgiveness.

The book of Matthew 6:14-15 says, “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Some religious fanatics argue that it is against the will of God for marriages to end up in divorces, as in Matthew 19:8.

But, no religious institution in Nigeria says what should happen when an abuser leads the victim to death.

Many times, when cases like this get into the limelight, the abuser is protected for reasons bordering on forgiveness and the will of God – the latter common in Northern Nigeria practice of Islam.

But, religious institutions need to look beyond and see the consequences of ‘tolerating’ or looking away from cases of abuse. Osinachi is a good example.

Verses of Holy Books that preach tolerance should be interpreted to also preach consequences for domestic abusers and what to do in such cases, including leaving the relationship.

Abuse has become cultural and will take years to push back, but it needs to stop.

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