CHIDINMA OJUKWU DENIES SWAPPING HER OLD PHONE FOR AN iPHONE 11 PRO MAX, CLAIMS SHE BOUGHT IT
Read Time:2 Minute, 51 Second
By Aishat Momoh. O.
The trial of Chidinma Ojukwu, the prime suspect in the alleged murder of Super TV CEO, Usifo Ataga, continued on Thursday before Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos State High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), has denied swapping her old phone for an iPhone 11 pro Max.
Ojukwu, a former 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, told the court that she bought the phone in April 2021 and did not swap it.
She maintained this statements while being cross-examined by the prosecuting Counsel, Mr. Yusuf Sule.
She mentioned that the phone swapped was not hers but, was for someone whom she accompanied to an office for the transaction, while noting that, the transfer was initiated by her as she identified a bank transaction linked to the swapping which the prosecution tendered as evidence.
Ojukwu also acknowledged being an adult at the time of the incident and agreed that adults “take responsibility for their activities.” However, she disagreed with the suggestion that she entered a relationship with the deceased “because of money.”
Ojukwu admitted to being in a romantic relationship with Ataga, saying she believed he was separated from his wife and might marry her. She also confirmed that she inspected the Lekki short-let apartment at 19, Adewale Oshin Street**, where the incident occurred, before Ataga made payment for it.
“I informed him that the apartment was suitable for what we wanted to use it for,” she told the court.
The defendant further revealed that she arrived at the apartment before Ataga and stayed with him from June 13 to 15, 2021, but claimed she left while he was still on the floor, not knowing whether he was dead or alive.
“When I saw him in the pool of blood, I was terrified. I didn’t call for help or an ambulance because I was scared,” she said.
When asked if she took any of Ataga’s belongings, Ojukwu denied stealing any property apart from a brown envelope she said was already inside her bag.
The court also heard that Ojukwu had admitted to taking drugs including “loud” and “Rohypnol”, which she said were supplied by the second defendant, Adedapo Quadri, through a dispatch rider.
She told the court that she met Quadri through a friend and that he sometimes helped her with school-related matters, including processing her University of Lagos student ID card.
Her counsel, however, objected to the admissibility of the document, arguing that it was a photocopy and not listed among documents to be tendered. The prosecution countered, saying the defendant had already identified the transaction as hers, relying on Sections 14, 15, and 233 of the Evidence Act to justify its relevance.
In her ruling, Justice Adesanya** admitted the first two pages of the document as Exhibit P38, and the remaining pages as Exhibits P39(a) and (b).
Earlier when the matter was called, during cross-examination by the third defendant’s counsel Mrs. Abia Bassey, Ojukwu confirmed that she gave her sister, the third defendant, an iPhone 7 Plus after she lost her phone, and also admitted to gifting another phone to her aunt.
The case was adjourned until November 11, 2025, for the continuation of trial.
Ojukwu, alongside Adedapo Quadri and Chioma Egbuchu, is standing trial on a nine-count charge bordering on murder, stealing, and forgery, following the death of Usifo Ataga in June 2021.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0