Chidinma Ojukwu, a 300-level student of the University of Lagos, on trial for the alleged murder of Super TV CEO, Michael Ataga, told a Lagos State High Court on Monday that she failed to report Ataga’s death out of fear of being wrongly accused.
Speaking before Justice Yetunde Adesanya at the court sitting in Tafawa Balewa Square, Chidinma explained that she hesitated to involve the police due to past stories of good samaritans being implicated in crimes.
“I had read of incidents where people reported crimes and ended up being accused themselves. I also thought of calling the gateman again while I was at the staircase of the apartment, but I ended the call out of fear,” she told the court.
Chidinma is standing trial alongside Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, on a nine-count charge that includes murder, stealing, and forgery. They were arraigned on October 12, 2021.
Opening her defence on April 17, 2025, Chidinma narrated events from June 16 to 23, 2021, detailing the moments following the discovery of Ataga’s lifeless body. She said she noticed Ataga’s WhatsApp showed “online” even though she had seen him lying in a pool of blood.
“I was confused. I asked myself if someone else had his phone,”** she recalled. She said she contacted the gateman, Abu, who initially told her Ataga had left the previous day but later noted that his car was still parked at the property.
“Judging by what Abu told me, I said to myself, what have I done? 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 from the number and couldn’t reach him again.”
She also testified about taking two laptops—one Macbook and one HP—to Computer Village on June 18, 2021, where she sold the Macbook for N495,000 and submitted the HP for repair.
“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.”**
Chidinma also described efforts to reach Ataga via SMS due to network issues and stated that she invited her sister Chioma, who arrived from the East on June 22, 2021.
She said she gave Chioma her iPhone 7 Plus since her sister had misplaced her phone in April.
She was arrested the next day, June 23, 2021, and claimed that she was assaulted and handcuffed by police officers along with her father.
“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.”
Chidinma further alleged that she was held in isolation and coerced by an officer named Bamidele into writing a statement without legal representation.
“I told him I knew my rights and that a lawyer should be present. He said no lawyer was coming, and no one would be allowed to see me. Because of what he said, I started writing,” she said.
She claimed that Bamidele later tore her statement and demanded a new one, showed her disturbing crime scene images, and questioned her possession of personal documents, including her student ID.
“I told him I couldn’t have tied Michael up. He was a huge man,” she said.
Justice Adesanya adjourned the matter to April 29, 2025, for continuation of the hearing.
