Chidinma Ojukwu, the main suspect in the murder of Super TV CEO Michael Usifo Ataga, on Thursday testified before the Lagos High Court at Tafawa Balewa Square, describing how she discovered his lifeless body in a short-let apartment in Lekki on June 15, 2021.
Speaking before Justice Yetunde Adesanya, the former University of Lagos Mass Communication student recounted that after returning from buying food and juice, she knocked on the apartment door several times without a response.
When she pushed the door open, she was met with bloodstains on the floor and found Ataga lying motionless in a pool of blood.
“I dropped everything and ran to him,” she recalled tearfully, saying his eyes were partly open and he had no pulse.
Led in her testimony by her lawyer, Mr. Onwuka Egwu, Chidinma recounted how she met Ataga in November 2020 through a mutual friend, Fiyin, who was dating Ataga’s friend, James.
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She described Ataga as generous, noting that he paid her tuition and supported her beauty business.
She revealed that Ataga, who lived in Victoria Garden City and had three children with his estranged wife in Abuja, had invited her to spend time with him ahead of his birthday before traveling to meet his family.
Due to renovations at his VGC home, Ataga opted for a short-let apartment in Lekki, where he also had scheduled meetings.
Chidinma said she found and booked one at 19 Adewale Street, off Ologolo Road, with Ataga’s approval.
They met there on June 13, went out to eat at Ango Villa restaurant, bought wine, and returned to the apartment, where they ate, drank, and smoked.
On June 14, she said Ataga asked her to get cannabis (“loud”) and rohypnol, sending her N15,000, followed by another N25,000 for food. She went out and was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The following day, Ataga again requested cannabis and gave her money for food and drinks.
After a mix-up while buying okro soup, she returned to the apartment and was shocked by what she found.
“There was blood on the floor. I pushed the door and saw Michael on the floor, covered in blood. I checked for a pulse — there was none,” she said.
In a state of panic, she cleaned herself, changed clothes, and packed her things, including a brown envelope containing Ataga’s bank documents, ID cards, and papers belonging to someone named Mary Johnson.
She also took some jewelry and left in a taxi.
The court adjourned the case to April 28, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.
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