•Murder suspect Chidinma Ojukwu and victim, late Michael Usifo Ataga
Chidinma Ojukwu, a former 300-level Mass Communication student at the University of Lagos, yesterday, told a Lagos State High Court that every statement she made to the police during interrogation was false and made under duress.
Chidinma is standing trial for the alleged murder of the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Michael Usifo Ataga, reports The PUNCH.
In her defence before Justice Yetunde Adesanya at the Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, Chidinma said fear prevented her from speaking the truth during her interactions with the police.
“Because of the fear that the Investigating Police Officer, Mr. Bamidele, and his team put in me, I couldn’t say anything contrary to the narration he asked me to tell the Commissioner of Police,” she testified.
Chidinma, Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, are facing charges of stealing and forgery.
They were arraigned on October 12, 2021, on a nine-count charge.
The defendant, who opened her defence on April 17, 2025, narrated how she was arrested on June 23, 2021 and interrogated.
“The IPO, Mr. Bamidele, collected my phone and asked me to input my password, which I did. He went to my contact list and searched for my sister’s name. He asked me to confirm it, then wrote it down.”
She continued, “He asked me about my laptop and what I went to do at Computer Village. I told him I went to repair the laptop on the table and sold another one. He asked which one I sold, I said a MacBook. He asked where I sold it, I said a phone vendor, and then he wrote the address down.”
Chidinma said Bamidele also questioned the cannabis she and Ataga allegedly smoked.
“He asked where I got the cannabis from. I said I have someone who supplies me. He asked who, I said Quadri. He asked for his number, I said it was on my phone, and he wrote it down.”
“When he asked about Michael’s ATM card, I told him I didn’t have it. He said N5m had been withdrawn and another N20,000 withdrawn a few times, totalling N5,380,000. I said, ‘Sir, I don’t know anything about it’.’”
She told the court that, following the interrogation, Bamidele claimed to have gathered evidence and ordered her to write her statement.
When she protested that she had already written a statement and her lawyer was absent, she was slapped.
“I said, ‘Sir, I’ve written my statement and you tore it. Now you want me to write another one and my lawyer is not here.’ Then I got a slap on the back,” she recounted.
“I picked up the pen and told him I wasn’t feeling fine and needed to rest. He said there was no time for that.”
She said as she began writing, her hands started shaking.
“He collected the pen and said I was too slow. Then he started asking questions about my name, age, address, school, and state of origin. After that, he stopped asking and started writing the statement himself.”
She continued, “When he was done, he gave it to me to read. I said, ‘Sir, your handwriting is illegible, I can’t read it.’ He read it to me. I said, ‘Sir, these allegations are all false.’ He said, ‘That will be your story, better comply.’”
She told the court her hands were handcuffed to the seat she sat on.
“He read the statement over and over to me and gave me a short narration.
He said, ‘Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the CP’s office and this is what you are to say.’ He then left me in the interrogation room, with one hand handcuffed to the chair and the other free so I could flip through the pages.”
The next morning, on June 24, 2021, Bamidele returned with another officer identified as Chris.
“They removed the handcuff, gave me water to wash my face, then asked me to narrate the statement. I missed some words and Bamidele said we were going to the CP’s office.”
“I asked if my lawyer had come. Mr Chris said I should stop being stubborn, that they’d get a government lawyer for me.”
She said when they arrived in Ikeja, the other officers exited the vehicle and she was left with Bamidele.
“He asked if I still remembered the statement or if he should read it to me again.
He said, ‘Listen to me carefully, do not say otherwise to the CP if you love your life.’”
At the CP’s office, she said she narrated the story Bamidele had instructed her to tell.
“I couldn’t say anything different because of the fear. The officers brought in my father and asked him if he knew me. He said, ‘Yes, that’s my daughter.’ We were both handcuffed.”
She added, “Mr. Bamidele told me some journalists would be asking questions and I should stick to the narration. He took me to an open field and in less than a minute, people flooded around me with cameras. I answered their questions based on his instructions.”
After the police command visit, she said she was taken back to the station and into the DCP’s office. “Mr. Bamidele said he was going to record a video and I should narrate the same story. I said, ‘Sir, I’m tired, you’ve disoriented me, I need to rest.’ One team member said I should be allowed to rest for 20 minutes.”
“After 20 minutes, a young lady came and applied concealer to my face. She touched up my face. Then they held the video and Mr. Bamidele said I should start speaking. As I spoke, he stopped me and said, ‘Why are you speaking like you don’t know what you’re saying?’ I said, ‘Sir, my headache is affecting me.’”
They discussed among themselves and brought a flip chart.
“As I spoke using the chart, Bamidele paused the video and said my eyes were too fixated on it. We started again. He said I was too slow and timid. We made videos several times until he found the one he liked, and then I was taken to the cell.”
Later that evening, she narrated that she was taken by another officer, Mr Oseni, to a different office where two female officers, Ms. Funke and Ms. Bola, were present.
“I was told to write another statement. I said there was already one. Funke told me to shut up and sit down. She brought a black file and a blank paper.”
“I said I was reluctant. Then a male officer smashed my head on the table. I said I was hungry, and Bola said, ‘We don’t have time for that. When you’re done, you’ll get food.’”
She wrote her name, address, and phone number before Funke took the statement, wrote a heading on it, and returned it to her. “She started dictating. My handwriting was small because I was weak. Afterwards, Oseni took me to the cell.”
“Nothing in the statement is true,” she told the court. “Not even the part about buying food from Blackbell Restaurant. He said, ‘Please sign,’ which I did, and he took me back to the cell.”
Justice Adesanya adjourned the case until May 7, 2025, for continuation of trial.
