By Akinwale Kasali
The tragic soap opera that is the gruesome murder of Usifo Ataga, the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV is still unfolding, getting messier and more dramatic everyday than expected.
As the drama unfolds, more insights are given. And it gets more complicated everyday.
For a start, Chidinma Ojukwu, the 300 level student of the University of Lagos, the main suspect, has been talking. Surprisingly, she had nothing flattering to say about his lover who she had freely and publicly admitted to killing.on the first day of her arrest.
So, in her interview, a few days ago, she had no respect for the Biblical injunction that admonishes the living not to speak ill of the dead. She blatantly said Usifo “liked to carry girls” without sparing a thought for his wife, Brenda, who she has reduced to the status of a widow. And, cunningly, she chipped in that it was like Ataga did not have a good marriage, and catered only for his kids. She said he, also,liked drugs, and liked to drink.
Without quite saying it, she gave the impression that Usifo was a carefree man, who would “dash” her, before a blink of the eyes, his laptop which, perhaps, contained important documents.
But more important to this case, Chidinma admitted to being a callous thief, a common criminal who, not only stole from a man whose brutally dehumanised body was still oozing blood, but would use his ATM card to go and withdraw money thereafter.
It is not known why the Police is making Chidinma available for one-on-one interviews with the Media. One had thought that the interview she granted the day the Lagos State Police Command paraded her was enough. But no. She has since granted three more interviews – to a national newspaper, to the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, and now, the most dramatic, to Crime Fighters.
The Crime Fighters’ interview was as dramatic as that of one Lawyer who dragged his reputation and that of his profession in the mud, just because he wanted to be noticed. In the interview he granted to ITV, this Lawyer, Barrister A.B. Thomas, told lies that would make satan weep. His interview went viral.
He claimed to know of the relationship between Ataga’s wife, Brenda, and Izu, the fictitious Chidinma’s cousin. Speaking with so much confidence, he said Brenda and Izu planned Ataga’s murder. He said he had the photographs of the two together, and had every evidence to nail them. He was believed by most people. But the man was lying with everything in him. He lied shamelessly.
When the Ataga family and Brenda took him to ask, and threatened to sue him to the tune of One Billion Naira, he shamelessly, again, recanted. He said he neither knew Brenda nor the fictitious Izu. He said he had no photograph, or any shred of evidence. He admitted he lied, that his story was fabricated, and that there was nobody in Brenda’s life called Izu. He said all the stories he told were hearsay, and things he put together from online publications. He stated these and more in a letter he wrote to Brenda’s lawyer, Mbasekei Martin Obono, dated 8th July, 2021, which he personally signed. He begged for forgiveness.
But Chidinma’s drama peaked during her interview with Crime Fighters. She recanted her earlier confession that she stabbed Ataga to death under the influence of drugs and alcohol which both of them took. She said she was not present when he was killed. She said she went to buy drugs and food, and only met his dead body on return. She only stole his things she admitted. Ataga’s cousin, who had seen his body five times in the mortuary say his wounds were extremely deep; and his hands so tightly bound together that the marks left were horrible.
The new claims by Chidinma, many say, sound like her claim of Ataga, wanting to rape her while they were together in the rented apartment.
The only good thing about the interview is that Chidinma finally confirmed what most people, including Ataga’s family, and even the Police, suspected from the onset which are that: there is more to Ataga’s murder; Chidinma had help. She did not act alone; that she couldn’t have, alone, tied Ataga’s hands behind him; that she could not have gagged him alone; that she did not stab him only three times, as she claimed, but that Ataga was stabbed multiple places.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has since dismissed Chidinma’s new song as an after-thought. Odumosu said what her new claims were the words of an active criminal.
And, in an announcement that gladdened many hearts, the CP, also, disclosed that some more arrests have been made in connection with Ataga’s murder. What is now left is for Chidinma to tell us her true story, especially, who she truly is.
Following is the text of her interview with Crime Fighters.
Chidinma On Atiga: He liked to carry girls
“He doesn’t talk much about himself. He is quite busy. I would say he is a busy person. At a point, I got to know that he likes to carry girls. He smokes, drinks and also takes drugs. I don’t really know deep about him.
“He gets angry easily. He has issues with his wife. He was more of catering for his kids. He wasn’t happy in his marriage. I can’t remember the faces of his friends, but have met two people. I don’t have N10 Million in my bank account, I have like N400 to N500 thousand.
“Michael (Ataga) gave me his laptop. He has two laptops and I told him I wanted one and he gave it to me and that is what I sold to get the money. It was Mac Pro.
“I wasn’t doing ushering when I was with him. I was getting more from him than doing the ushering. So there was no need of doing the ushering job. Ushering can’t be up to N20 thousand or N15 thousand. He gives me more than the ushering money.
WHO BROUGHT THE IDEA TO BOOK AN APARTMENT?
“The apartment where he was at Lekki. He told me to go and they said it was free. It was on a Sunday June 13, so I had to check online about the short-let, because I don’t want hotel, because it is not going to be fun like staying in the house or something. So I decided to check for a short-let and I told him and he said it was okay.
“Then he said I should go and check the place out which I did and it was okay. The price was N105,000 for four days. After paying the money, he came after one hour, and we both went out to get food and also get drinks. We were just indoors watching movies, drinking and smoking. He woke up before me, but I was still feeling sleepy and dizzy.
“This is because of the smoke, drink and the drugs. So he asked what we needed, and I was like, we need to buy food and drugs, because the drugs we brought had already finished and he tried to forward the money into my account because we had to make payment. So he gave me his card.
“I did not have access to his card but I know the pin code. As I was leaving, he stood back to lock the door. But when I got back I was knocking, and no one answered, and the door wasn’t locked. The duvet was on the floor, the pillow, the couch was facing the door, and the bed was stained with blood already, and the floor was also stained. Music was playing aloud with the Television also on. The room was already disarranged like someone broke in. I saw him on the floor and I did not know what to do.
“I took my things and left. I was afraid and did not know what to do. If I had raised alarm they would have arrested me and say I did it because we are both together in the room. I just left. I was packing my things to leave, I noticed my cloth was stained; I changed it to another one. I took the bag that contained his ID, documents and bank statements.
“My bag wasn’t on the floor but I met it on the floor and the stuffs I took were on the TV set. So I just packed and put them into the nylon and left.
“The following week, I was home and I went out to withdraw some money from the ATM card I was with. I withdrew N200,000
WHY DID YOU WITHDRAW HIS MONEY EVEN AFTER HIS DEATH?
“Before that day on Tuesday, he already told me he was going to give me the money that I requested for. And when I came out the day I was arrested and they were saying I went away with N5 million. There is N5 million in the account. I just did it, it is not like I have something to do with his death.
HOW DID THE OWNER OF THE APARTMENT KNOW ABOUT THE INCIDENT?
“The lady that I rented the apartment from was the one I messaged to probably tell the security guard to check the room. And they came to my house, arrested me and took me to the station.
AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE YOU SAID YOU STABBED MR ATAGA USIFO, WHY NOW DENYING?
“I didn’t involve anybody, so I don’t know who might have come into the apartment, but definitely, somebody did. I don’t know who that person is and I dont know what happened when I left to buy the food. Because of the things I did – not alerting the Police and withdrawing his money, I feel guilty. I did not kill him. Knowing fully well that I did not kill him, but taking his money and not reporting to the Police.
“I believe somebody knew where we were and waited till I left before they could enter. But the security said no one entered, that I was the only one that entered the house and the apartment. I just took the blame on myself since no one believed me.
“No one is influencing my statement. I have not spoken to my relation or anybody. I have just been in there, in the cell since.
Chidinma is an active Criminal – CP HAKEEM ODUMOSU TO CRIME FIGHTERS
“What she is depicting is the trait of an active criminal. At the State CID, she was here and we recorded all her statements the night she was arrested, even the lady she rented the apartment from is also on record.
“If all she is now saying is an after-thought, then the secret will be revealed. If anybody is saying the Police are trying to give her a splint or something, the person is saying it out of mischief and it is highly discouraging.
“For us to have risked our lives and carried out our professional calling in getting her, instead of our action to be appreciated and encouraged to push further, we are being discouraged and distracted by being castigated. Some people believe that if we are castigated we will be discouraged and not push further. No, we will never be. We are not leaving any stone unturned to get a lead. Any lead that we get is helpful.”
His phone was used to send a message in badly written English – OKOEDO ADOMI (Usifo Ataga’s Friend) TO CRIME FIGHTERS
“I spoke to him last on Monday at about 9pm. It was on a public holiday. On Tuesday, I was on my way to his house in Banana Island in Ikoyi, and I started calling him. Usifo is a kind of person that when he misses your call, he calls you back immediately. I was calling him from VGC to Lekki Phase I, maybe like six to seven times and he did not pick his call or call me back.
“This was like about 2pm, and between Lekki Phase 1 and Banana Island gate, I called like 15 times, because I will need a Code to get into the estate. So when I got to the gate, and he still was not picking, I had to call somebody else to give me a Code to get in. When I got to his house, I didn’t even enter because it was a transparent gate, I saw that his Toyota Hilux was in front of the house, but the Range Rover was not there. So I called his Personal Assistant and asked where is Usifo? He said that he came to Banana Island that morning and his cook said that Usifo had left the house since Sunday and was not back on Tuesday morning.
“I asked him if he had asked Rahman, one of his business partners, and he said he had asked him and he also said the same thing that he had been calling him but he never picked but sent a message. I said okay, that when he is ready to talk to me he would call me.
“When I got to VGC, I then saw Gambo and Rahman, and I asked him to show me the message. I now said, one, he is not a message person, he is a talking person. The English he used here, Usifo won’t use this type of English, that something is wrong with Usifo. We now decided that in the morning we will try and do a search.”
“I Regret seeing my cousin’s body” – BARR. FRANKLIN UFUA (Usifo Ataga’s Cousin) TO CRIME FIGHTERS
“Usifo is the third son in a family of four. He has two elder brothers and a younger sister. His siblings all live abroad. Usifo grew up as a child raised by very Godly parents in a Christian way. He was guy who always had business in his DNA. What I can tell you about Usifo is that he was very respectable. Usifo will never hurt a fly. Usifo loved people. He goes beyond his immediate family to know his cousins, uncles, sisters. I have had the very regrettable privilege of seeing the dead body five times.
“My cousin’s hands were tied so badly that it entered his skin. The rope is right there as an exhibit with the Police. That crime can never be done by that lady alone. It is not possible. Even if he was drunk, it is not possible because I saw the lady and I saw my cousin and I said this is not possible. Apart from the fact that he was tied, there were multiple stabs on his body. That story of two stabs is not true. He was stabbed in other places. His legs. In Yaba mortuary, the attendants were so dramatic, and they told us that the stab here was a hole. The guy stubbed his two fingers in my cousin’s body in my presence.
“In the doppler vein, he was stabbed there deliberately. It wasn’t that he was stabbed in the neck alone, it was on the doppler vein and multiple stabs on his body.”
A couple of days ago, the House of Representatives weighed in on the Ataga murder. Worried about the interviews Chidinma is granting, it asked the Police to stop parading her before Journalists, and to ensure her safety for as long as the case would last.
