Chidinma Ojukwu, the University of Lagos undergraduate standing trial for the murder of Super TV CEO, Michael Usifo Ataga, told a Lagos High Court on Tuesday that all statements she made to the police were false and extracted under duress.
Appearing before Justice Yetunde Adesanya at the Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, the 300-level Mass Communication student opened her defence by recounting a harrowing experience during police interrogation, claiming she was coerced, assaulted, and threatened into making confessions that were scripted by police officers.
“Because of the fear that the Investigating Police Officer, Mr. Bamidele, and his team put in me, I couldn’t say anything contrary to the narration he asked me to tell the Commissioner of Police,” Chidinma testified.
Chidinma, alongside Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, is facing a nine-count charge bordering on murder, stealing, and forgery. The trio was arraigned on October 12, 2021.
The defendant, who began her defence on April 17, 2025, told the court she was arrested on June 23, 2021, and forced to provide her phone password. According to her, the police then accessed her contacts, questioned her about a laptop transaction at Computer Village, and linked her to the alleged theft of Ataga’s ATM card, from which N5.38 million was reportedly withdrawn.
“When I denied knowledge of the money, Mr. Bamidele ordered me to write another statement. When I protested that my lawyer was not present, he slapped me,” she recounted.
She claimed the officer eventually took over the statement writing, feeding her false information and forcing her to memorize it ahead of a scheduled meeting with the Commissioner of Police.
“The next morning, he warned me not to say otherwise to the CP if I valued my life. Out of fear, I repeated the story he told me,” Chidinma said, adding that her father was brought in, handcuffed beside her, to increase the pressure.
She also detailed a series of video recordings orchestrated by the officers, where she was forced to repeat the fabricated narration multiple times, even after complaining of disorientation and a pounding headache. She alleged a female officer applied concealer to her face before filming resumed.
Later that evening, she said she was taken to another office where two female officers allegedly dictated a new statement to her. When she hesitated, a male officer reportedly slammed her head on a table, while another female officer told her to write before she would be given food.
“Nothing in those statements is true,” she insisted in court, adding that even details like buying food from a restaurant were fabricated.
Justice Adesanya adjourned the trial until May 7, 2025, for continuation.
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