By Naeema Paris // Global News // EEW Magazine Online

According to numerous confirmed reports, a beloved and popular Nigerian gospel singer died Friday after being savagely beaten by her abusive husband, a minister.

After spending five days on life support in an Abujah hospital, Osinachi Nwachukwu, best known for her hit song, “Ekwueme,” succumbed to devastating injuries inflicted by Peter Nwachukwu who was taken into custody by police Sunday.

Original inaccurate reports alleged that Nwachukwu, who tragically leaves behind four children—three sons and one daughter—died of cancer. But the sister of the deceased, Favor Made, said Osinachi passed away from clusters of blood in her chest that resulted from Peter forcefully kicking her.

“All this while, he has been beating her, but my sister hides all that she was passing through from us,” said the grieving sibling, according to Daily Post.

Favor Made also told the publication that the family advised Osinachi to leave the volatile marriage, but the committed wife was praying and believing God to change her husband.

“We told her that they are not divorcing, and that it’s just a separation,” said her sister. “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.”

That change never came.

“Religious institutions in Nigeria forbid divorce, and there are strong cultural beliefs that women should endure unhealthy relationships and make them work, because if there is a fault to be found in that relationship, it’s on the part of the woman and her responsibility to fix it,” said Nigerian registered nurse and domestic violence awareness advocate, Chinwe M. Enyinna, in a piece written for The Guardian.

“These religious and cultural beliefs play a large role in hindering many women from leaving abusive relationships,” she added.

Punch reports that colleagues of Osinachi, a lead singer at the Dunamis International Headquarters, confirmed that her husband abused her.

Fellow popular singer, Frank Edwards, took to Instagram Live and said Osinachi’s spouse had physically assaulted her on several occasions.

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

The singer who told his audience he had seen the abuse firsthand, continued, “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.”

Another woman who identified herself as a friend of the victim, Chidinma Ezego, said that Osinachi told her that Peter also made her own children beat her.

 “The husband has been beating and maltreating this woman, but she’s been dying in silence,” said Chidinma, according to Punch. “Now the man has been arrested, and I pray he rots in jail.  [I] remember how he tied her up and asked the children to beat her up with a cane. She told me this.”

Pastor Paul Enenche, who leads Dunamis International Gospel Centre where the late singer served in ministry, is said to have had no knowledge of the abuse.

A Facebook statement posted by the pastor’s daughter, Deborah Paul-Enenche, said, “My father has always been an advocate for removing oneself from a deeply unhealthy marriage. It is spread across the fabric of his ministry the clear fact that he has always ensured the weak are protected. It is not different in this situation.

Deborah continued, “Everything was done to ensure the departed was removed from her situation and in lieu of that, she was cared for as much as possible. Bear in mind that there was no knowledge of the physical abuse. If such had come to light, we wouldn’t be here.“

The beating death has sparked a much-needed dialogue surrounding attitudes and beliefs around domestic violence in the church. Women of faith, both in Nigeria and abroad, are commonly told to stay in abusive marriages despite the imminent threat of danger to avoid committing the “sin” of divorce—toxic advice that frequently proves fatal.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) defines domestic violence as “the deliberate intimidation, physical assault, sexual assault, and other abusive behavior that is part of a systematic pattern of exercising power and control by one intimate partner against another.”

It can take on a various forms including physical, emotional, verbal, economic and sexual abuse.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.