An undergraduate, Chidinma Ojukwu, who is The first defendant in the murder trial of Super TV CEO Michael Usifo Ataga, on Thursday told a Lagos High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square annex that she discovered his lifeless body on June 15, 2021, in the short-let apartment at Lekki which he had rented for them.
Testifying before Justice Yetunde Adesanya, the 300-level Mass Communication student from the University of Lagos said she returned from buying their lunch and juice, knocked on the door with no response, then pushed it open to find blood on the floor and Mr Ataga lying in a pool of blood.
Led in evidence by her lawyer, Onwuka Egwu, Chidinma said she met the father of three in late November 2020 and then began a mutual relationship. She added that he was kind to her, footing her school fees when needed , and funding her cosmetics business.
She added that, They met through a mutual friend, Fiyin, who was dating the deceased’s friend, James.
“When we met, he told me he was from Edo State, lived in Victoria Garden City, and was in the media industry, and had three children with his estranged wife whom he visited often in Abuja.”
According to Chidinma, Mr Ataga called her on June 13, 2021, saying his birthday was on Friday that week and that he wanted her to spend time with him before heading to Abuja for a family celebration. Due to renovations at his VGC home, he suggested she search online for a short-let apartment which he said he prefers to a hotel.
According to her, she later told him the ones she saw were not available, and that he gave her the address of an apartment at 19 Adewale Street, off Ologolo Road, Lekki.
She added that, They met there that evening, went out for dinner, picked up wine, then returned to the apartment to drink, eat, and smoke.
The defendant, who is being prosecuted along with two others, Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, also denied the claims of a prosecution witness, who owns the apartment, that Chidinma booked the flat after after calling her with a foreign number. Chidinma says she doesn’t know who made the payment, as she didn’t ask the deceased for the price.
The next day, Chidinma said they woke up late, and he asked her to contact her supplier, Quadri, for loud (cannabis) and rohypnol. She said he sent her N15,000 for that and later N25,000 for food.
On June 15, 2021, she said the media executive again requested more loud, but asked her to pay since he couldn’t transfer funds. He also gave her cash to buy food and juice. While trying to no avail to reach him for a change in the meal he ordered, she added that she returned to the apartment and found him dead.
“I saw blood stains, pushed the door open, and saw Michael on the floor, covered in blood. I checked for a pulse there was none.”
She says she wiped the bloodstains off herself, changed clothes, and packed her things including a brown envelope containing Mr Ataga’s bank statements, ID cards, and documents belonging to one Mary Johnson, before leaving the apartment in a cab. On getting home, she says kept her stained clothes in a black disposable bag and cried over what she had seen.
The case was adjourned to April 28, 2025, for continuation of her evidence.
