The ongoing trial of Chidinma Ojukwu, the alleged killer of Super TV Chief Executive Officer, Usifo Ataga, continued on Thursday with the testimony of the Investigative Police Officer, IPO, Mr. Ibrahim Isiaka.
The sixth prosecution witness, Mr. Isiaka told Justice Yetunde Adesanya of Lagos High Court, sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, TBS, that the police discovered the dead body of Mr. Ataga in his pool of blood.
Narrating to the judge, he said that when the police got the information of the incident at the Maroko Police Station at Lekki, the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, and the Divisional Crime Officer, DCO, rushed down to the scene of crime and the DPO, immediately called emergency at Yaba General hospital, who came and evacuated the corpse.
While being led in Evidence-in-Chief, by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecution, DDPP, Mrs. Adenike Oluwafemi, the IPO said that on June 16, 2021, he was on night duty when a case of murder was reported, at the Maroko Police Station.
Isiaka said that, on June 16, 2021, at about 11:30pm, one Mrs. Nkechi Mogbo, who is the owner of the service apartment where Ataga was killed, came to make a report of murder case.
Continuing, he explained that Mrs. Nkechi Mogbo, told the police that her security guard one Abu, had informed her that some people lodged at her facility, that is the short service apartment, situated at 19, Adewale Oshin Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, and when the cleaner went to clean the apartment they discovered a dead body.
The witness informed the court that in Mogbo’s report she stated that the security guard and the cleaner, after calling the occupants of the apartment and there was no response, they forced the door open and discovered that a man was lying down in his pool of blood.
He added that based on the nature of the case, on June 17, 2021, the DPO, said the case should be immediatelty transfered to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti.
According to the witness, after the case file was transfered to Panti, a team of detectives from the Homicide Section of Panti, asked him to follow them to the scene of crime, noting that when they got there, the apartment door was opened and they discovered that things were scattered in the apartment.
He said, “The team headed by chief Supritendent of Police, from Panti, found some items from the traveling bag of the deceased at the apartment and picked them, for investigation.
“I went back to Panti and from Panti, we went back to Yaba General hospital, for the identification of the corpse, when I got back to Panti, I made a statement and handed over the case file to Panti and they continued from there.”
He gave evidence that when he visited the morgue, the corpse was brought out in a stretcher.
“I discovered that there was blood on his back, the deceased was lying down facing up, that was when he was identified as one Michael Ataga,” he told the court.
The Prosecuting counsel, Mrs. Oluwafemi, however, sought to tender the witness’ statement as evidence but the second defendant counsel, Mr. Babatunde Busari, objected.
Busari claimed that the statement was an extrajudicial statement (a statement made outside the court), therefore not addimissible.
He cited some decisions by the Supreme and Appeal courts to back his objection.
However counsel to other defendants, Mr. Onwuka Egwu for Chidinma and Mr. O. A. Ogunsanya for Quadri, did not object to the tendering of the statement.
Justice Adesanya, in a short ruling, said the objection failed and overruled it.
Following the ruling, counsel for Chidinma, cross examined the witness.
The witness expressed that the case was assigned to him by the Charge Room officer, adding that he carried out his investigations subject to the instructions given to him by the DPO and DCO.
Thereafter, Justice Adesanya, adjourned the case until February 21, for continuation of trial.
Recall that Chidinma Ojukwu, a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, UNILAG and two others are standing trial over Ataga’s murder.
The three defendants were arraigned on October 12, 2021 on a nine-count charge preferred against them by Lagos State Government.
Ojukwu and Quadri are facing the first to eight counts bordering on conspiracy, murder, stabbing, forgery, making of bank statements and stealing.
The third defendant, Egbuchu, is facing the ninth count of stealing iPhone 7 belonging to the late Ataga.
The first and second defendants were alleged to have conspired and murdered Ataga on June 15, 2021, by stabbing him severally with a knife on the neck and chest at 19, Adewale Oshin Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
