Chidinma Ojukwu, who is currently on trial for the alleged murder of Super TV Chief Executive Officer, Michael Ataga, has disclosed that her fear of being wrongfully accused prevented her from reporting the incident to the police.
Chidinma, who was testifying before Justice Yetunde Adesanya at the Lagos State High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square, said that she feared being wrongly accused if she reported the crime.
She explained that her fear was influenced by past instances where individuals were blamed after reporting crimes.
Furthermore, the defendant added that although she initially considered contacting the apartment’s gateman, she ended up not doing so due to anxiety.
Chidinma is facing multiple charges of murder, theft, and forgery alongside her co-defendants, Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu.
In her defense, she recounted the events surrounding Ataga’s death in June of 2021, saying that despite finding the deceased unresponsive and lying in a pool of blood, his WhatsApp account appeared to be active, raising suspicions that someone else might have accessed his phone.
Chidinma revealed a conversation she had with the property’s gateman, who initially claimed that Ataga had left, but later admitted that his vehicle remained on-site.
In a moment of panic, Chidinma said she messaged Ataga, expressing remorse and fear for leaving him in that condition, after which she was blocked on his number.
On June 18, 2021, she took two laptops, an HP and a MacBook, to the Computer Village, Ikeja, claiming the MacBook was a gift. She thereafter sold the MacBook computer for ₦495,000.
However, Chidinma’s sister, Chioma, arrived in Lagos two days later after losing her phone, and Chidinma gave her an old iPhone.
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Chidinma recounted her arrest on June 23, 2021, where both she and her father were handcuffed and taken to a police station.
She explained that she fled the crime scene out of fear and denied having any of Ataga’s belongings.
During her interrogation by the police, a police officer named Bamidele allegedly pressured her to write a statement without legal representation, threatening to arrest her family if she insisted on having a lawyer present.
The defendant alleged that Bamidele tore her initial statement, coercing her to write another version after showing her photographs from the crime scene.
She rejected the suggestion that she had tied Ataga with a robe, asserting, “I couldn’t have tied Michael up. He was a huge man.”
The trial is ongoing, with the court continuing to hear evidence and testimony in this high-profile case that has captured significant public attention since 2021.
