Chidinma Ojukwu, a 300-Level student at the University of Lagos, who is currently standing trial for the alleged murder of Super TV CEO Michael Ataga, testified before a Lagos State High Court on Monday. In her defense, she explained that she did not report the incident to the police due to fear.
Testifying before Justice Yetunde Adesanya at the Lagos State High Court, sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, Chidinma said she was afraid of being wrongfully accused if she reported the crime.
“I had read about cases where people reported crimes and ended up being accused themselves,” she said. “I also thought of calling the gateman again while I was on the staircase of the apartment, but I ended the call out of fear.”
Chidinma is facing charges of murder, theft, and forgery, alongside one Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu. The trio was arraigned on October 12, 2021, on a nine-count charge.
Opening her defense on April 17, 2025, Chidinma provided a detailed account of the events surrounding Ataga’s death. She described her activities from June 16 to 23, 2021, and her emotional turmoil following the discovery of Ataga’s lifeless body.
Led in evidence by her counsel, Onwuka Egwu, Chidinma testified that on June 16, 2021, she noticed that a WhatsApp message she had sent to Ataga earlier had been read, and his status was showing “online,” even though she had already seen him lying motionless in a pool of blood.
“I tried calling his number several times, but the calls went unanswered. I was confused. I asked myself if someone else had his phone,” she recounted.
Chidinma then reached out to the gateman, Abu, who was responsible for managing utilities at the short-let apartment. When she inquired about Ataga’s whereabouts, Abu initially claimed that Ataga had left the previous day. However, he later revealed that Ataga’s car was still parked at the property.
“From what Abu told me, I started to panic and thought to myself, ‘What have I done?'” she said. “I then sent a WhatsApp message to Michael saying, ‘Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to leave you in that state. I was very scared.’ After that, I was blocked, and I couldn’t reach him again.”
Chidinma went on to describe other events leading up to her arrest. On June 18, 2021, she took two laptops—a MacBook and an HP laptop—to Computer Village, intending to sell one and repair the other. She recalled that when she attempted to sell the MacBook, the vendor asked for a receipt, to which she replied that it was a gift from December 2020.
“The manager then entered and asked me to unlock the laptop so he could check it. After doing so, they inspected the laptop and we negotiated the sale price. The laptop was sold for N495,000, and the money was transferred into my bank account. I then took the HP laptop for repair,” she testified.
Chidinma also detailed her efforts to reach Ataga via SMS on June 19 and 20, 2021, due to poor network coverage. On June 20, she spoke with her sister, Chioma, the third defendant, and invited her to visit. Chioma, who had been in the eastern part of the country, arrived on June 22, 2021.
According to Chidinma, Chioma had lost her phone in April during her trip to the East, and since she had two phones—an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 7—she gave Chioma the iPhone 7 Plus, which she had used the previous year.
Chidinma was arrested by the police on June 23, 2021. She testified that, during her arrest, one of the officers slapped her, but her father intervened. Both of them were handcuffed and taken to the police station at Panti.
“At the DCP’s office, I told him I didn’t know about the death. I explained that I ran out of fear and took my belongings. My father was also handcuffed. The DCP said he was interfering with the officers’ work,” she recalled.
She went on to describe how the police later took her and her father to her residence, where they recovered her phones, a laptop, a black disposable bag containing clothes, documents from the apartment, and ID cards.
Chidinma claimed that she was then placed in a smaller room, where her left hand was handcuffed to a chair. She alleged that an officer, identified as Bamidele, brought her a blank statement form and instructed her to write a statement.
“I told him I knew my rights and requested a lawyer, but he said no lawyer would be coming, and no one would be allowed to see me,” she claimed. “He also threatened that my family members, including my 10-year-old sister, could be detained if I didn’t cooperate.”
According to Chidinma, due to the officer’s threats, she began writing her statement. Afterward, she said Bamidele tore up the statement and demanded a new version. She further claimed that Bamidele showed her graphic images from the crime scene and accused her of using a robe recovered from the apartment to tie the deceased’s hands—an allegation she denied.
“I told him I couldn’t have tied Michael up. He was a large man,” she explained. “When he questioned me about the documents I possessed, such as my UNILAG ID card, bank statements, and voter’s card, I told him I was a student and had processed the documents legally.”
Justice Adesanya adjourned the hearing to April 29, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.
