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How I killed Ataga, Chidinma confesses with tears as court plays video

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A Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square on Tuesday watched the video recording of lifeless body of the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, allegedly murdered on June 15, 2021.

An undergraduate, Chidinma Ojukwu, and one Adedapo Quadri are standing trial for Ataga’s murder.

They were arraigned alongside Ojukwu’s sister, Chioma Egbuchu, accused of stealing Ataga’s iPhone 7.

Ataga’s body was seen in the video lying on the ground facing up, with his hands spread.

He was wearing a white singlet and a boxer’s pant stained with blood.

His head was close to a wall at the short service apartment where he was allegedly murdered.

There was blood on the floor. Blood also stained the pillow and duvet on the bed in the room.

In the same Compact Disc, a video showing Ojukwu narrating how she murdered Ataga was played.

In the video, Ojukwu narrated that she met Ataga through a friend.

She said that, on June 13, 2021, the deceased called her and asked her to get a place for them to stay, and she got the short let service apartment where the deceased died.

She said: “After I got the place on Sunday, we were smoking loud, drinking, watching movies.

“Then, I went to get food, the drug we were taking got finished and I ordered another one and went down stairs to get it from the delivery guy in the morning.”

The first defendant said that the above-mentioned incident occurred on June 14, 2021.

” Then, on Tuesday, we drank, smoke loud and I added Rophynol to his drink. We had sex, and I was on the bed and he was on a chair.

“ Later, he started disturbing me for more sex. I was tired, and after struggling with him, he had his way and still wanted more.

“He was no longer himself, and I thought he was no more interested in sex, only for him to return to the bed to ask for more.

“I pushed him away which resulted in his hitting his head against a stool that had a glass, he had a cut on his leg and he became weak.”

Ojukwu said that she then took a knife and stabbed Ataga on the neck, ribs and stomach, so he would not be able to harm her.

“ I tied his hands with a handkerchief. His blood was out and I was scared.

“ I just packed everything, my clothes was also stained with blood, I just packed my things and left.

“I took the knife and handkerchief, and when I got home, I threw the knife and handkerchief away.

” Michael was a friend. I didn’t know him that deeply, and we didn’t talk regularly,” she said in the video clip.

When she was asked in the video if she was assisted in killing the deceased, Ojukwu said, “There was nobody that assisted me, I did it alone.”

When asked why she didn’t call for help, she said, ” Obviously I was scared, that was why I left.”

She said that there was no motive behind her killing Ataga.

In the video, the ninth prosecution witness in the murder trial, DSP Olusegun Bamidele from the Intelligence and Tactical Unit of the State Criminal Investigating Department, Panti Yaba, was seen in interrogating Ojukwu at Panti.

He also asked her why she was using a foreign phone number and the motive behind her hiding her phone number.

Ojukwu said that she already had a foreign number registered on social media which she used to chat with people.

Asked why the owner of the service apartment didn’t know her identity, she said, “She didn’t ask for my identification.

“If she had said that the place was not available I would have left for another place.”

Ojukwu respondef to a question in the video about why she used Mary Johnson to open a bank account.

She said that she was attempting to open an account number which got blocked.

On an Identification card she procured, Ojukwu said, “It was someone that did it and you can’t see his face.

“I don’t know the contact of the person. I was just going through the internet and I saw a contact to call.”

She also said in the video that she opened a domiciliary account for depositing dollars.

At this point, prosecution counsel, Mrs Adenike Oluwafemi, reminded the witness of his evidence on May 10, when he said that he recovered some items from the defendant’s house.

Bamidele responded by listing the things he allegedly recovered from Ojukwu’s house.

He told Justice Yetunde Adesanya that he recovered a small pink purse containing two syringes, eight pieces of Rophynol tablets, two sanitary pads, a small perfume, jewellery, an iPhone belonging to first defendant, a note book, a diary and a HP laptop.

The witness listed the other items to include an identity card with the name: Ojukwu Chidinma Adora; Ataga’s driver’s licence, Ojukwu’s United Bank for Africa automated teller machine card and Super net identity card in Ataga’s name.

Other items, according to the witness, are three other cards that had the deceased’s name and six blank complimentary cards.

After identifying the items, Oluwafemi prayed the court to admit them in evidence.

However, Ojukwu’s counsel, Mr C.C. Ezebube, objected to the admissibility of the items.

Ezebube said that the custody of the items were not specified before the court – from the moment of recovery to that of tendering them before the court.

He said, “Some of the items could have been picked from anywhere, there is no originality as these items can be reproduced from anywhere.

Quadri’s counsel, Mr Babatunde Busari, and Egbuchu’s counsel, F.O. Ilesunmi, did not object to the tendering of the items in evidence.

In a ruling, the judge dismissed the objection and admitted the items in evidence.

Crime

Thieves cart away cows meant for church harvest celebration

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Suspected thieves have carted away two cows from the premises of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) Testimony Parish in the Egbeda area of Oyo state.

In a post published on its Facebook page, the church said the stolen cows, bought at N1.9 million, were meant for its annual adult harvest thanksgiving celebration.

The incident happened on November 11 as the church prepared for the celebration slated for November 17.

After days of searching for the missing cows, the church solicited for financial contributions to buy new cows for the harvest celebration.

“Dear Celestians and The General public, This 2 Huge Cows was stolen where it was Tied in The Church Premises at CCC Testimony parish Elerumoke Area, Egbeda, Iyana Ajia and its meant for slaughter for the 9th adult harvest thanksgiving of the church coming up this Sunday 17th November 2024,” the church wrote on Facebook.

“We hereby solicit for your prayer for quick recovery of this harvest thanksgiving sacrificial materials.

“Anybody with useful information on how to recover these cows or any means of assistance to make the harvest thanksgiving a beautiful one should contact the parish shepherd.”

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Crime

NDLEA arrests businessman for smuggling cocaine through ingestion

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has announced the arrest of a businessman caught with a large quantity of cocaine.

Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy, revealed the arrest on Sunday via his X account, accompanied by a video displaying the seized contraband.

The businessman, whose identity has not been disclosed, reportedly ingested a substantial quantity of cocaine in an attempt to avoid detection.

Babafemi wrote, “Detty December: Before you swallow those drugs, please remember that the new @ndlea_nigeria has the capacity and capability to catch you.

“The businessman who excreted this amount of cocaine will not only spend Christmas behind bars but also risks a life sentence at the end of his trial. Beware!”

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UK teenager risks 20 years in Dubai prison for sex with 17-year-old girl

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An 18-year-old British boy has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl in Dubai.

Detained in Dubai, a group of UAE legal experts, said the teenager was on holiday with his parents when he met the girl — who is now 18 — at the same hotel.

The teenagers who are both from London were said to have made plans to continue their romance when they returned to the UK.

The group, which campaigns to help people it says have suffered injustice in the UAE, said the young man was charged because the girl’s mother found their chats and pictures back in the UK.

It was gathered that the woman subsequently contacted police in Dubai and he was arrested.

The boy however claimed he was unaware that the girl was younger than him when they met. The teenager also disclosed that he was in police custody for three days and was unable to contact his parents.

“We had a wonderful time together. We really liked each other but she was secretive with her family because they were strict,” he told Detained in Dubai.

“My parents knew about our relationship but she couldn’t tell hers. She had to meet me without telling them it was to see a boy.

“When she left, I couldn’t wait to see her again when I got home. Then suddenly, police knocked on our hotel door. They said they were taking me in for questioning but wouldn’t tell me why. I was frightened and my parents were terrified.”

The teenager, it is understood, could face up to two decades in prison owing to Dubai’s strict laws regarding sex outside marriage.

Radha Stirling, chief executive of the campaign group, said Dubai recently legalised out-of-wedlock sex for tourists but “still hosts a strict Islamic legal system”.

“Sex outside marriage is legal for tourists but only if both parties are over 18. The girl was just a few months younger than Marcus and he didn’t know that at the time,” Stirling said.

“Since his arrest, she has turned 18. This is not something Dubai should be prosecuting.

“Parents will be scared to take their older teenagers on vacation with them where they could end up losing their lives over behaviour that’s completely legal in their own countries.”

The teenager and his family have called on foreign secretary David Lammy, their local MP, to intervene in the case.

The teenager is no longer being held in a police cell but is unable to leave the country, with his family facing bills of £2,000 for Airbnb accommodation until his case is resolved.

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