Ataga: Police forced me to write false statement, says Chidinma

Ataga and Chidinma

Chidinma Ojukwu, a former 300-level Mass Communication student at the University of Lagos, on Tuesday, told a Lagos State High Court that every statement she made to the police during interrogation was false and made under duress.

Chidinma is standing trial for the alleged murder of the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Michael Usifo Ataga.

In her defence before Justice Yetunde Adesanya at the Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, Chidinma said fear prevented her from speaking the truth during her interactions with the police.

“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,” she testified.

Chidinma, Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, are facing charges of stealing and forgery.

They were arraigned on October 12, 2021, on a nine-count charge.

The defendant, who opened her defence on April 17, 2025, narrated how she was arrested on June 23, 2021 and interrogated.

“The IPO, Mr. Bamidele, collected my phone and asked me to input my password, which I did. He went to my contact list and searched for my sister’s name. He asked me to confirm it, then wrote it down.”

She continued, “He asked me about my laptop and what I went to do at Computer Village. I told him I went to repair the laptop on the table and sold another one. He asked which one I sold, I said a MacBook. He asked where I sold it, I said a phone vendor, and then he wrote the address down.”

Chidinma said Bamidele also questioned the cannabis she and Ataga allegedly smoked.

“He asked where I got the cannabis from. I said I have someone who supplies me. He asked who, I said Quadri. He asked for his number, I said it was on my phone, and he wrote it down.”