Chidinma Ojukwu, the alleged killer of Super TV CEO, Michael Usifo Ataga, has cried out to the victim’s family for forgiveness, saying she doesn’t wan
“I regret killing Mr Ataga. I don’t know what my future holds but I don’t want to die. Please, I don’t want to die because of this case. I have not killed before. I was just trying to comport myself to answer questions during the parade and not that I am not showing remorse. I totally regret everything I did and I am sorry. Mr Ataga’s family, I am deeply sorry for what I did. If I had my life back, I wouldn’t do anything like that. I am deeply sorry and I hope you forgive me,” the University of Lagos undergraduate pleaded.
Chidinma and Ataga who were in a relationship, lodged in an AirBNB in the Lekki area of Lagos State but according to Chidinma, an altercation ensued between both of them which led to her stabbing Ataga multiple times after which she withdrew N380, 000 from his account using his ATM card.
She was tracked down at her father’s Alagomeji, Yaba residence via the Information and Communication Technology unit recently created by the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, used to track suspects. Upon her arrest, Chidinma attributed her action to the influence of hard drugs and alcohol.
Speaking with Punch, Chidinma said her parents separated when she was two years old and she started living with her uncle, Chijioke Obi, in the Mushin area of Lagos State. She added that while growing up, her childhood ambition was to become either a musician or an actress.
“My role models were Tiwa Savage, Beyonce, Rihanna, Genevieve, and Regina Hall. I schooled in Johnson Primary School and also a government primary school in Mushin. I later went to Sidman College in Sabo, Yaba. Upon completion of my secondary school education, I gained admission to study Mass Communication at the University of Lagos.
“I started smoking a few years ago. Old-time friends introduced me to it and we don’t talk anymore. Everything started after I entered UNILAG, but not actually when I am in school, it could be other places. But I am not the one in the other video (dissociating herself from another trending video showing a lady exhibiting her butt),” she stated.
Narrating some of the moments she spent with the deceased, she said, “Mr Ataga was a friend and I don’t know how to elaborate more. He has not shown me pictures of his family but he sometimes acts like he was married and not that he is married. I have met him up to four or five times; he takes drugs and drinks alcohol. It is not that I am trying to put anything together.’’
Meanwhile, the police has since released Chidinma’s father and the operator of the apartment where the incident happened, Mrs Nkechi Mogbo, on bail. The suspect’s father was arrested over what the police described as obstructing the arrest of her daughter while Mogbo had been in police custody after investigation identified her as the operator of the apartment.
“Chidinma’s statement exonerated her father as she said that he was not aware of the incident. We released him. Also, the lady in our custody, one Mrs Nkechi Mogbo, who leased the flat from the property owner and used it for a service apartment, has been released on bail.
“After Magbo was arrested, she assisted the police because of the information she gave us. Now that we got the principal suspect, and the fact that the principal suspect confessed that she singularly committed the act, and equally went further to explain that she never met Nkechi Mogbo, but that she only phoned her and that they transacted all the business online, I have ordered her release on bail while we continue our investigation,” Odumosu said.
