"Every Statement I Made to Police Was a Lie Under Duress" - Chidinma Tells Court

"I Was Threatened, Coerced, and Made to Lie to the Police About Usifo Ataga’s Death – Chidinma Ojukwu Tells Lagos Court, Claims All Confessions Were Under Duress"

Chidinma Ojukwu, the former 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, on Tuesday told the Lagos State High Court that all statements she made to the police during her interrogation were false and made under duress.

Ojukwu is standing trial for the alleged murder of Michael Usifo Ataga, the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV. Appearing before Justice Yetunde Adesanya at the Lagos High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square, she opened her defence and said fear prevented her from telling the truth during police questioning.

“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.

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Ojukwu, alongside Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, is also facing charges of stealing and forgery. They were arraigned on October 12, 2021, on a nine-count charge.

She narrated how she was arrested on June 23, 2021, and interrogated by Bamidele, who allegedly collected her phone, accessed her contacts, and forced her to answer scripted questions. “He asked about my laptop and cannabis, and I responded as instructed,” she said.

Ojukwu told the court she denied knowing anything about Ataga’s ATM card, despite being told that over N5 million had been withdrawn. When she refused to write a second statement without her lawyer, she claimed she was slapped.

She also alleged that Bamidele eventually wrote a statement on her behalf, read it out to her, and instructed her to memorise it for presentation to the Commissioner of Police. She claimed she was handcuffed overnight with one hand tied to a chair and was coerced the following day into repeating the false statement.

“They said if I loved my life, I should not say otherwise,” she told the court. She added that the police paraded her in front of journalists and made her answer questions based on their script.

Afterward, she was taken back to the station where another team allegedly forced her to record several video confessions. “They applied makeup, paused the video repeatedly, and made me start over until they were satisfied,” she said.

Later that day, another officer allegedly forced her to write yet another statement. “A male officer smashed my head on the table when I resisted. I was weak and hungry. I just complied,” she testified.

Ojukwu concluded that nothing in any of the statements she gave was true, including details about buying food from a restaurant. The court adjourned the trial to May 7, 2025.

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