Ataga’s Murder: Family Fingers Alleged Killer, Hires Ozekhome, Says CP Odumosu Is Complicit

By Akinwale Kasali

The family of the gruesomely murdered Super  TV CEO, Usifo Ataga is so angry with the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, that they are accusing him of deliberately treating the heinous crime with indifference.

They say that the CP did not tell the family the day the suspects, including the prime suspect, Chidinma Ojukwu, were arraigned before a Yaba Magistrate Court. They accuse the CP of charging another person they finger as one of the prime suspects, Babalola Disu, of obstruction of justice instead of murder.

They are aghast that on the day of Chidinma’s arraignment, she was taken to the Court in a “pleasure” car, and driven to prisons still in a “pleasure” car, both times, without handcuffs.

They, also, revealed that Chidinma was living with his “Sugar daddy”, not her father, and wondered why the Police did not make that aspect public.

The family has, therefore, hired city lawyer, Dr Mike Ozekhome, SAN, to represent its interest, and see to it that all those involved in the heinous crime are brought to book.

Chidinma is cooling off in the Prison, following the ruling of the  Magistrate Court which remanded the 300 Level Mass Communication Student of University of Lagos in custody on holden charges pending the advise of the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution.

In a brief to Ozekhome, the family decried “the low level of professionalism exhibited so far by the Police in bringing to book and prosecuting professionally, the perpetrators of this heinous crime that led to Ataga’s unprovoked and cold blooded murder.”

The family said it was shocked that the prosecution of the prime suspect in Ataga’s murder, Chidinma, was arraigned at a Chief Magistrate Court, Yaba, without even being informed about the arraignment coming up.

It also revealed that one Babalola Disu, who was arraigned for allegedly preventing the Police from performing their duties and failing to report a crime to the Police, is “highly suspected to have carried out the murder”.

It premised its suspicion on information they received to the effect that Disu’s short rental apartment was directly opposite the apartment where Ataga was killed. The family narrated how the said Disu had asked that the carpenter of Air BnB should be called upon to fix his door, only for the carpenter to be told later that it was actually Usifo’s door that was broken.

The family had also accused Odumosu, of being complicit in bungling the case of Ataga’s murder through his lack of depth, thoroughness, and professionalism in his investigation of Ataga’s brutal murder.

Stressing further, the Ataga family decried the alleged comfortable movement to prison from court and from court back to the prison, of Chidinma in an Uber ride. The family queried why this was done without even handcuffs and without its being informed of the intending arraignment.

The family equally alleged that the man who had claimed to be Chidinma’s father, and who was, also, charged to the Magistrate’s Court for obstructing Police investigation, was actually not Chidinma’s biological father after all, but her “sugar daddy”. The family postulated that this means that the Police had deliberately lied to it.

The family made it clear that it suspects Disu of having a hand in Ataga’s murder and wondered why he was charged for mere obstruction of Police investigation and failure to report a crime, “thus being granted bail in the ridiculous term of one million Naira only and two sureties in like sum.”

According to the family, “To all other suspects involved in this dastardly act (except Chidinma who was ordered remanded ) , bail was granted by Chief Magistrate Adeola Adedayo, in the funny conditions of one million Naira each with two sureties in like sum.” The Ataga family said it could not understand “these over liberal bail terms in such a heinous crime of hideous and horrific murder.”

The family said it “views these acts by the Police as a slap on their face, the face of justice and a deliberate cover-up by the Police.”

The family asked Ozekhome’s Chambers, to take up the case “with all relevant authorities, to ensure that justice is manifestly done to the memory of late Usifo through a very professional prosecution of all those involved in this heinous crime, no matter how highly placed they may be.”