A former 300-level student of the University of Lagos, Chidinma Ojukwu, standing trial for the alleged murder of Super TV Chief Executive Officer, Michael Usifo Ataga continued her testimony on Tuesday before the trial judge, claiming that she wrote her statement under duress on the instruction of the Police.
She said this in her defence before Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Tafawa Balewa Square.
Chidinma said she made false claims due to the fear that the Investigating Police Officer, Mr. Bamidele and his team.
She stated that she couldn’t say anything contrary to the narration IPO Bamidele asked her to narrate to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police.
The defendant opened her case on April 17, 2025, and testified that after the Police arrested her on June 23, 2021, the IPO collected her phone and asked her to input the password, which she did.
Being led in evidence by Onwuka Egwu, her counsel, the defendant said that the IPO went to the contact list and searched for her sister’s name and asked her to confirm the name and wrote it down.
Chidinma said he also asked about her laptop and what she went to do at the Computer Village.
She said she told him that she went to repair the laptop on the table and also sold another one.
He asked what laptop did I sell, “I told him Macbook, he asked me where did I sell it, I said a phone vendor, he searched and wrote the address on the paper.
Chidinma further explained that Bamidele asked her where she got the cannabis she and late Ataga smoked from, and she told him that she has someone who supplies her.
The defendant further told the court how she was queried about the deceased items.
According to her, “Where is Michael’s ATM card, I said I am not with Michael’s ATM card.
Continuing she stated that the IPO said, “N5m was withdrawn and subsequently N20,000, was withdrawn couple of times, totaling N5,380,000, I said sir, I don’t know anything about it.”
Chidinma also said Bamidele, then said he has gotten some evidence and that she has to write her statement.
“As I was about writing, my hands started shaking, so he collected the pen from me and said I was slow.
She narrated that she was aked about her name, age, address, previous school she attended and her state of origin.
She said, “After that, he stopped asking questions and started writing.”
Chidinma in her further testimony said that when Bamidele was done writing, he gave her the statement to read.
She explained to the court that she told the officer thus, “I said sir these allegations are all false, and he said that will be my story that I should better comply.”
She further stated that her hands were handcuffed to the seat she sat on, and Bamidele read the statement to her over and over and then gave her a short narration.
Chidinma told the judge that on June 24, 2021, Officer Bamidele came with another officer simply identified as Chris and they unhandcuffed her and gave her water to wash her face.
She said that after washing her face, Bamidele asked her to narrate the statement, which she did and informed her that they were going to the CP’s office.
Chidinma also told the court, “Then I asked has my lawyer come? Mr. Chris said I should stop being stubborn, that they are going to get me a good government lawyer who will represent me.
“When we got to Ikeja, other officers came down, I was left alone with Bamidele. He said do you still remember the statement or I should read it to you?
“He said listen to me carefully, do not say otherwise to the CP, if you love your life, then we came down from the vehicle, and went to the CP’s office.
“The CP asked me what happened, then I narrated what Mr. Bamidele asked me to say. I couldn’t say anything contrary because of the fear Bamidele and his team has put in me.
“The officers at the CP’s entrance brought in my father, and asked him if he knew me, my father said yes that I am his daughter.
“We were both handcuffed, then Mr.Bamidele came to tell me that there are some journalists that will ask me questions that I should stick to the narration.
“He took me to the open field and not less than a minute, people flooded my view with cameras, they were asking questions and I answered based on Mr. Bamidele’s instruction.”
Chidinma also said that after they left the Police Command at Ikeja, she was taken back to the police station and the first room at the DCP’s office, and Bamidele told her that he was going to make a video that she should narrate the same story.
She recounted, “Then I said sir, I am tired, you have disoriented me, I need to rest. Then one of the team members said they should allow me to rest for 20 minutes, after 20 minutes a young lady came and applied concealer on my face.
“She did a bit of touch on my face. They held the video and Mr. Bamidele said I should start speaking. As I was speaking, Mr. Bamidele said I should stop, that why I’m I speaking like I don’t know what I am saying?
“I was stammering, then I said sir, my headache is not allowing me to remember the things I’m saying. Then they discussed something among themselves, brought a flip board and wrote boldly on its pages.
“While I was speaking from the flip chart board as guided, Bamidele paused the video and said my eyes were too fixated on the flip chart board.
“Then we began again, as I was speaking, he said I was too slow and timid. We made videos a couple of times until he found the one that he liked, then I was taken to the cell,” the defendant narrated.
Chidinam also claimed that in the evening she was taken to another office by Mr. Oseni, where there were two female officers, Ms. Funke and Ms. Bola, and she was informed that she was there to write statement.
She further said, “Then I said there is already a statement, Funke said I should sit down and shut up. She then brought a blank statement and another blank paper that she was holding on to.
“She said I should start writing, I was feeling reluctant then another male officer smashed my head on the table.
“I said I was hungry and needed food to eat, Ms. Bola said we don’t have time for that, that when you are done, you can have food to eat.
“I wrote my name, address, phone number and Ms. Funke collected the statement from me and wrote something like the heading of the statement and returned it to me, and she started dictating to me.
“My handwriting was small because I was weak, after that Mr. Oseni took me to the cell, I said nothing here is true. Everything here is completely false, not even where I went to buy food in a restaurant, he said please sign which I did and he took me back to the cell,” the defendant said.
Justice Adesanya thereafter adjourned the case till May 7, 2025, for continuation of the trial.
