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A High Court in Lagos that is located at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) has watched video of Chidinma Ojukwu confessing to killing Usifo Michael Ataga, the CEO of Super Tv, by herself without any assistance.
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The court also viewed the gruesome video that was taken after Ataga’s lifeless body was discovered in a Lagos short-let serviced unit.
According to News Express, Miss Ojukwu, a University of Lagos (UNILAG) student studying mass communication at the 300-level, is on trial for Ataga’s murder.
Adedapo Quadri, the second defendant, and her sister Chioma Egbuchu, the third defendant, are also on trial with her.
They were charged on October 12, 2021, at the high court before Justice Yetunde Adesanya, and have been on trial ever since.
According to the Lagos State Government, the murder occurred on June 15, 2021, at 19 Adewale Oshin Street in Lekki Phase 1.
On a big screen in the courtroom, the prosecution displayed a video footage from a Compact Disc (CD) during the proceedings, showing Ataga laying on the ground. He was observed standing up, his hands outstretched, in a white singlet and bloodstained boxers. Blood was on the floor on his right side, and his head was close to the wall.
The floor, pillow, and duvet cover all had noticeable blood stains.
During her questioning by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Olusegun Bamidele from the Intelligence and Tactical Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti, Yaba, Ojukwu was also seen in the video describing how she killed Ataga.
Ataga urged her to hunt for a place for them to stay on June 13, 2021, thus the defendant obtained the short-let apartment where they ate, drank, used drugs, and where Ataga was slain, according to the defendant. She stated she met Ataga through a friend and they got to talking.
After I moved in on Sunday, we smoked loudly, drank heavily, and watched movies before I went to fetch food, according to Ojukwu. On June 14, 2021, the medication we were taking ran out, so I ordered another and went downstairs to pick it up from the delivery man in the morning.
Then, on Tuesday, we engaged in loud drinking, smoking, and addition of Rophynol to his drink, followed by sex. He was seated in the chair while I was on the bed. Later on, he began bothering me for additional intercourse. He had his way despite my struggles with him, and he still wanted more, and I was exhausted.
“He wanted it, he didn’t seem like himself, and I assumed he had lost interest in having sex, but then he came back to the bed and demanded more.” He smacked his head against a stool that had a glass after I shoved him away. He lost strength due to a wound on his leg.
I grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the neck, ribs, and stomach to stop him from hurting me. I used a cloth to tie his hands.
He was bleeding, and I was terrified. I simply packed everything, leaving my clothes blood-stained as well, and I departed.
“I grabbed the knife and the handkerchief, and when I got home, I tossed them away. We just spoke with a friend named Michael (Ataga). We didn’t communicate frequently, and I didn’t get to know him well,” she stated.
When asked if someone helped her kill the victim, Ojukwu responded, “There was nobody that assisted me, I did it alone.
When questioned about why she didn’t call for assistance, she replied, “Obviously, I was afraid, so I fled.”
Regarding the reason she killed Ataga, she remarked, “There was no reason.”
Ojukwu was also questioned by DSP Bamidele, the ninth witness for the prosecution, about why she was using a foreign number and why she was hiding her number. The defendant replied that she had already established a foreign phone number on social media, which she used to talk with people.
She responded, “She didn’t ask for my identification,” when asked why the proprietor of the service apartment didn’t recognize her. I received a text message. I would have left for another location if she had claimed the space wasn’t available.
When asked why she used the fictitious name “Mary Johnson” to open a bank account, the defendant claimed she first tried using her own name, but the account was shut down; as a result, she chose Mary Johnson.
Bamidele testified that the police found some items from the defendant’s home, including a small pink purse containing two syringes, eight pieces of Rophynol tablets, two sanitary pads, a small perfume, jewelry, an iPhone, a notebook, a diary, and an HP laptop during the prosecution’s chief witness examination.
Other materials were the defendant’s identification card with the name Ojukwu Chidinma Adora, Ataga’s driver’s license, Ojukwu’s UBA ATM card, Ataga’s Super net identification card, three further cards with the deceased’s name, and six additional blank cards.
Justice Adesanya quickly ruled, overruling the defendant’s argument and admitting the goods into evidence.
The witness had earlier displayed images of the residence to the jury.
On October 12, 2021, the Lagos State Government filed a nine-count complaint against the three defendants, which led to their arraignment.
Ojukwu and Quadri are accused of committing crimes including conspiracy, murder, stabbing, forgery, creating false bank statements, and theft on up to eight counts.
The ninth count against the third defendant, Egbuchu, is that he stole the late Ataga’s iPhone 7.
The case was continued in court on October 12 after the cross-examination and confession.
