Chidinma Ojukwu, the University of Lagos student on trial for the alleged murder of Super TV CEO Michael Ataga, told a Lagos State High Court on Monday that her fear prevented her from reporting the incident to the police.
In her defense before Justice Yetunde Adesanya, Chidinma explained that she was afraid of being wrongly accused if she went to the authorities.
“I had read of incidents where people reported crimes and ended up being accused themselves,” she stated.
She also mentioned briefly considering calling the gateman again but ultimately decided against it due to fear.
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Chidinma is also facing charges of stealing and forgery alongside Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu. They were arraigned on a nine-count charge in October 2021.
Continuing her testimony from April 17, 2025, Chidinma recounted the events following the discovery of Ataga’s body, detailing her activities between June 16 and 23, 2021.
She testified that on June 16, she saw that a WhatsApp message sent to Ataga had been read and his status was “online,” even though she had seen him lying motionless. Her calls to him were declined.
Chidinma said she contacted the gateman, Abu, who informed her that Ataga had left the previous day but later mentioned Ataga’s car was still there.
She then sent a WhatsApp message to Ataga saying, “Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to leave you in that state. I was very scared,” after which she was blocked.
She also described selling a Macbook and taking an HP laptop for repair at Computer Village on June 18, 2021.
She recounted selling the Macbook for N495,000 after unlocking it and signing out of iCloud, with the money transferred to her account.
Chidinma further narrated her attempts to contact Ataga via SMS on June 19 and 20 due to poor network and her sister Chioma’s visit on June 22, 2021, to whom she gave an old iPhone.
She testified about her arrest on June 23, 2021, her denial of possessing Ataga’s property, and an alleged slap by a police officer, which her father intervened in.
She recounted being handcuffed with her father and taken to Panti police station.
At the DCP’s office, she claimed she stated her lack of knowledge about the death, explaining she fled out of fear and took her belongings. She alleged that her father was also handcuffed for interfering.
Chidinma further told the court about being taken to her residence where her phones, laptop, clothes, documents from the apartment, and ID cards were recovered.
She claimed she was then handcuffed to a chair in a smaller room where an officer, Bamidele, asked her to write a statement without a lawyer present, allegedly threatening her family if she didn’t cooperate.
She alleged that Bamidele tore up her initial statement and demanded a new one, showing her graphic crime scene images and claiming a robe was used to tie Ataga’s hands, which she denied due to Ataga’s size.
She also explained her possession of her personal documents to the officer.
Justice Adesanya adjourned the hearing until April 29, 2025, for continuation.
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