“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.”
Chidinma Ojukwu, accused of murdering Super TV CEO Michael Usifo Ataga, told a Lagos High Court on Tuesday that her police confessions were false and extracted under duress.
Testifying before Justice Yetunde Adesanya, Ojukwu said, “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 claimed that during her June 2021 interrogation, she was slapped, handcuffed, denied a lawyer, and forced to repeat a scripted statement to the CP and journalists.
“When I protested that I had already written a statement and my lawyer was not here, I got a slap on the back,” she said. “He said, ‘Listen to me carefully, do not say otherwise to the CP if you love your life.’”
She also alleged she was recorded multiple times until officers were satisfied.
“I was disoriented… we made videos several times until he found the one he liked,” she added.
Ojukwu, alongside Adedapo Quadri and Chioma Egbuchu, is facing charges of murder, theft, and forgery.
She told the court, “Nothing in the statement is true.”
Justice Adesanya adjourned the trial to May 7, 2025.