MURDER TRIAL: COURT ADJOURNS CHIDINMA'S NO-CASE SUBMISSION TILL FEBRUARY 20

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Prosecution calls for second and third defendants to open their defenses as trial continues….

By Aishat Momoh. O.

The hearing of the no-case submission in the ongoing murder trial of Chidinma Ojukwu has been adjourned until the new year, as the prosecution called on the second and third defendants to open their defences.

Ojukwu, a former 300-level Mass Communication undergraduate at the University of Lagos, is standing trial for the alleged murder of Usifo Michael Ataga, the Chief Executive Officer of SuperTv. She faces additional charges of stealing and forgery, alongside co-defendants Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu.

At the resumed hearing on Thursday before Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos State High Court, sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) Annex, the second and third defendants, who had earlier filed no-case submissions, requested that all charges against them be dismissed.

Counsels for the second defendant, Babatunde Busari, and the third defendant, M.I. Otuaka, argued that the prosecution had failed to provide material evidence requiring their clients to enter a defence.

In response, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Yusuf A. Sule, objected to the no-case submissions. He urged the court to dismiss the applications, stating that material evidence had been presented linking the second defendant to the charges. He also noted that the prosecution had filed a response on November 27, 2024, and called for the third defendant to enter her defence, citing evidence of a stolen phone.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Yetunde Adesanya adjourned the case to February 20, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.