Police Found Late Ataga in Pool of Blood, IPO Tells Court

Wale Igbintade

An Investigative Police Officer, Inspector Ibrahim Isiaka, in the ongoing trial of Miss Chidinma Ojukwu, the suspected murderer of Super TV Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Usifo Ataga, yesterday told a Lagos High Court how the police discovered Ataga’s dead body in his pool of blood.

Isiaka, who was led in evidence by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecution (DDPP), Mrs. A. O. Oluwafemi, said that on June 16, 2021, he was on night duty when a case of murder was reported at the Maroko Police Station.

He said that when the police got the information of the incident, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), and the Divisional Crime Officer, (DCO), rushed down to the scene of the crime.

He stated that the DPO immediately called the emergency unit at Yaba General Hospital, who evacuated the corpse.

Isiaka, who is the sixth prosecution witness, told the trial judge, Justice Yetunde Adesanya, that on June 16, 2021, at about 11:30 p.m., one Mrs. Nkechi Mogbo, (the owner of the service apartment where Ataga was murdered), came to make a report of the murder case.

According to him, Mogbo told the police that her security guard, one Abu, informed her that some people lodged at her facility, and when the cleaner went to clean the apartment she discovered a dead body.

The witness also told the court that the security guard and the cleaner, after calling the occupants of the apartment and there was no response, forced the door open and discovered that a man was lying down in his pool of blood.

Isiaka, who said he had been a police officer for 28 years, told the court that based on the nature of the case, the DPO, directed that the case should be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti.

According to the witness, after the case file was transferred to Panti, a team of detectives from the Homicide section invited him to follow them to the scene of the crime.

He added that when they got there, the apartment door was opened and they discovered that things were scattered around in the room.

He said: “The team headed by a chief superintendent of police, from Panti, found some items from the traveling bag of the deceased at the apartment and picked them as an exhibit.

“I went back to Panti and there, 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 stated that he later visited the morgue, and the corpse was brought 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 added.

The Prosecutor, Mrs. A. O. Oluwafemi, however, sought to tender the witness’ statement as evidence but Counsel to the Second Defendant, Mr. Babatunde Busari objected.

Busari said that the statement was an extrajudicial statement (a statement made outside the court), therefore, not admissible.

Justice Adesanya, in a short ruling, overruled the objection and adjourned the case till February 21, for the continuation of trial.

Chidinma Ojukwu, a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, and two others are standing trial over Ataga’s murder.

They were arraigned on October 12 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 that belonged 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 in the neck and chest.

The alleged murder took place at 19, Adewale Oshin Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.