Frank Edwards, also accused the late singer’s husband of being jealous of his late wife’s rise to fame and fortune
By Kehinde Okeowo
Nigerian afro-highlife praise and worship singer and songwriter, Frank Edwards has described the husband of the late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu as a control freak and an abusive husband.
Osinachi who shot into the limelight with the hit “Ekwueme“, passed away on Friday at an Abuja hospital and her death has sparked controversies with new claims by friends and associates that she was involved in an abusive union which led to her untimely death.
She was a lead singer at the Dunamis International Gospel Centre and featured in several popular gospel songs like “Nara Ekele” by Pastor Paul Enenche and “You no dey use me play” by Emma.
Her colleague, Frank Edwards, on Saturday, joined others who had earlier alleged that the late singer had an abusive husband, who was controlling and regularly brutalises her.
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Mr Edwards made this known via an Instagram live video he made in respect of the death of the late singer.
He said on several occasions, the late singer’s husband was in the habit of publicly insulting his wife, and added that he physically abused her too.
He also accused the husband of being jealous of his wife’s rise to stardom, claiming she was too afraid of him and needed other people to help seek his permission before she can perform.
Frank said, “One time in a studio, this man slapped her in the studio 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 they claim 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’.”
The singer went on to say his late colleague kept her marital troubles to herself and he only knew about it when he was contacted to promote her music.
“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,” he said.
“It’s crazy,” he lamented.
“People have tried to invite her for their programmes, but she will keep telling them that they must beg my husband first,” he added.
He further narrated that a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Joy Nunieh, once gifted the singer a studio in Abuja, which her husband refused to allow her to use.
Osinachi’s husband, Peter Nwachukwu, who doubled as her manager is yet to make any statement on the issue.