A University of Lagos 300-level student named Chidinma Ojukwu, who is on trial for the alleged murder of Super TV CEO Michael Ataga, stated in a Lagos State High Court on Monday that she was frightened to call the police about the occurrence. In her defence before Lagos State High Court Judge Yetunde Adesanya in Tafawa Balewa Square, Chidinma stated that she was afraid of being falsely implicated if she reported the crime.
She replied, “I had read about cases where persons who reported crimes were later charged themselves. “While I was on the apartment’s staircase, I also considered calling the gateman once more, but I hung up out of fear.”The defendant was also charged with stealing and forgery alongside one Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu.
They were arraigned on October 12, 2021, on a nine-count charge preferred against her.
The defendant who opened her case on April 17, 2025, narrated the events that followed the discovery of Ataga’s lifeless body.
Chidinma gave a detailed account of her activities from June 16 to 23, 2021.
Led in evidence by her counsel, Onwuka Egwu, the defendant recounted that on June 16, 2021, she noticed that a WhatsApp message she had sent earlier to Ataga had been read and that his status was showing “online,” even though she had seen him lying motionless in a pool of blood.
She said she attempted to call his number several times, but the calls were declined. “I was confused. I asked myself if someone else had his phone,” she said.
Chidinma testified that she contacted the gateman known as Abu, who usually handled utilities at the short-let apartment.
When she asked him if he had seen Ataga, she said he replied that Ataga had left the previous day. However, the gateman later informed her that Ataga’s car was still parked at the property
What have I done, I asked myself, based on what Abu had told me? I then said, “Please pardon me,” in a WhatsApp message to Michael. I didn’t intend to abandon you in that condition. I was terrified. I couldn’t get through to him again after that because I was barred from the number,” she added. According to Chidinma, on June 18, 2021, she brought two laptops—an HP and a MacBook—to Computer Village, one of which was being repaired and the other for sale.
She said that when she got to the vendor, whom she normally purchased from, and gave him the Macbook, for sale, the vendor asked her for the receipt.
“I said it was a gift from last December 2020, and then the manager entered and asked me to unlock the Macbook laptop so that he could check very well.
“Then I unlocked the laptop, they checked whatever they wanted to check and then asked me how much I wanted to sell. I said N600,000, we negotiated then it got sold for N495,000. He then asked me to sign out of the i-cloud, I signed out and the money was transferred into my bank account, and then I took the HP laptop for repair.”
The defendant also described events on June 19 and 20, 2021, stating that she attempted to reach Ataga through SMS due to a poor network connection.
Chidinma told the court that on June 20, 2021, she spoke with her sister, Chioma (the third defendant), and invited her over
On June 22, 2021, Chioma, who was then in the country’s east, paid her a visit. Chidinma claims that on her trip to the East in April, Chioma lost her phone. She gave her an iPhone 7 Plus that she had used the year before because she had two phones: an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 7. According to her testimony, on June 23, 2021, she was taken into custody by the police. Chidinma, who denied possessing Ataga’s belongings, said she was slapped by one of the cops, but her father stepped in. She claimed that they were both hauled to the police in handcuffs.
“At the DCP’s office, I told him I didn’t know about the death. I said I ran out of fear and took my things. My father was also handcuffed. The DCP said he was interfering with the officers’ work,” she recounted.
She further told the court that the police later took them to her residence, where they recovered her phones, laptop, a black disposable bag containing clothes, some documents from the apartment, and ID cards.
Chidinma alleged that she was then taken to a smaller room where her left hand was handcuffed to a chair.
She claimed that an officer who was identified as Bamidele requested her to write a statement on a blank form. I informed him that a lawyer need to be present and that I was aware of my rights. She asserted, “He said no lawyer was coming and no one would be allowed to see me.” She further said that Bamidele had threatened to detain her family members, including her sister, who is ten years old, if she did not comply.
“I started writing because of what he said,” she added. Ojukwu claimed that after completing her statement, Bamidele destroyed it and insisted on a revised draft. He allegedly showed her explicit photos from the crime scene and asserted—a charge she refuted—that the deceased’s hands were tied with a robe found in the apartment. I informed him that I couldn’t have restrained Michael. He was a massive man,” she said. Sponsored Articles
She said the officer also questioned her possession of various documents, including her UNILAG ID card, bank statements, and voter’s card, to which she replied that she was a student and had processed the documents legally.
Justice Adesanya adjourned the matter till April 29, 2025, for the continuation of the hearipoong
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