Peter Nwachukwu, the husband of Osinachi, a well-known Nigerian gospel musician, announced his wife's death from lung cancer on Friday.
Mr Nwachukwu also stated that, contrary to popular belief, he never struck his late wife.
On Friday, while being brought to the Abuja High Court, the father-of-four made the remark.
"Let me tell the whole world, I've been through a lot," he added. I've been left alone. Cancer of the lungs killed my wife; I did not strike her. My wife, Osinachi Nwachukwu, died of lung cancer, thus I'm suffering for what I don't know"!
On April 8, Osinachi died, and her husband was accused by several of her coworkers of subjecting her to domestic abuse, which led to her death.
The 42-year-old vocalist was a member of the Dunamis International Gospel Centre's lead choir.
Initially, the singer was said to have died of throat cancer. Her relatives and friends regretted her violent marriage to Peter Nwachukwu immediately after the news of her death went viral.
Proceedings in the courtroom
Mr Nwachukwu was detained by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja Police Command on April 11, 2022, after Osinachi's younger brother reported him for culpable homicide.
On May 27, he made his initial appearance before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, where he was charged with 23 counts by the federal government.
The judge, N.K. Nwosu-Iheme, remanded Mr Nwachukwu to the Kuje Correctional Facility on Friday, pending the hearing and resolution of the homicide-related action filed against him by the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Mrs Nwosu-Iheme issued the order after the defendant pleaded not guilty to 23 charges ranging from domestic violence to homicide.
The judge ordered Mr Nwachukwu to be kept in custody, and the trial was rescheduled for June 16 at noon and June 17 at 9 a.m.
"Today's business is arraignment; an expedited hearing has been ordered," Mrs Nwosu-Iheme said.
"The defendant should be remanded in custody at Kuje Correctional Facility awaiting the outcome of this case," she stated.
The allegations
On May 20, 2022, the Head of the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Department of the Federation's Public Prosecutions, under the Ministry of Justice, Yewande Gbola-Awopetun, filed a case with charge number CR/199/2022 at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The Attorney-General of the Federation accused him under sections 104 and 379 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
Mr Nwachukwu was charged with culpable murder, which is punishable by death under Section 221 of the Penal Code.
The defendant allegedly deprived the dead of her liberty by restricting her movement and shutting her up in the residence, according to the federal administration.
The prosecution further charged the defendant with abusing the dead emotionally, verbally, and psychologically, in violation of section 14(1) of the VAP Act of 2015.