Chidinma Ojukwu, the alleged killer of Super TV CEO, Usifo Ataga, has told the Lagos High Court sitting before Justice Yetunde Adesanya that her confessional statement was extracted under duress and threat.
Miss Ojukwu, a former Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, made the revelation on Tuesday while continuing her testimony in her own defence.
She alleged that she was slapped, intimidated, and made to sign a false statement by officers of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba.
According to her, a police officer identified as Mr. Bamidele seized her phone, instructed her to unlock it, and questioned her about a range of issues, including her visit to Computer Village and the origin of cannabis found in her apartment. She admitted that the cannabis was supplied by an individual named Quadri, whom she said also provided the substance she and the deceased smoked.
She added that Mr. Bamidele retrieved Quadri’s number from her phone before confronting her with details of alleged withdrawals from Mr Ataga’s bank account, including N5 million and an additional N380,000. She denied any knowledge of the transactions.
“When I said my lawyer had not arrived, I was slapped from behind and told to cooperate,” she recounted. “They handcuffed me to a chair, and Mr. Bamidele wrote my statement while asking questions. When I told him I couldn’t read the handwriting, he read it out loud to me and insisted it would be my statement.”
She also claimed that she was later warned not to deviate from the content of the written statement during her appearance before the Commissioner of Police. “He told me not to say anything different if I valued my life,” she testified.
She also alleged that during a media parade orchestrated by the police, she was instructed to respond to journalists based on the narrative previously given by Mr. Bamidele.
In another part of her testimony, Ojukwu said she was taken to a room where she was forced to rehearse a video confession multiple times. “Despite saying I was unwell, they made me rest for 20 minutes, then brought in a lady to brush my hair and apply makeup. They made me read from a chart paper, page by page, until the video came out as they wanted.”
Later that evening, she said she was taken to another office where two female officers allegedly forced her to write another statement.
“When I tried to resist, Mr. Jamil smashed my head on a wooden table,” she said. “They dictated the statement to me, and after I signed it under pressure, I was returned to the cell.”
Further hearing is fixed for May 7.
