CHIDINMA Ojukwu, the suspected killer of Super TV Chief Executive Officer Usifo Ataga, has pleaded not guilty.
On Tuesday, the 22-year-old pleaded not guilty with her co-defendant Adedapo Quadri before the presiding judge Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos State High Court.
They are being prosecuted by the Lagos State Department of Public Prosecution on eight counts bordering on murder, forgery and stealing.
They were also arraigned alongside Chidinma’s sister, Egbuchu Chioma, from whom the late Ataga’s iPhone 7 was said to have been recovered.
Chioma, however, pleaded not guilty to the 9th count of being in possession of the stolen property.
Ojukwu was arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police command after Ataga was found dead in an apartment in the Lekki area of the state last month.
According to the police, the suspect, who had fled the scene of the crime, had earlier checked in with the deceased into the apartment days after he was brutally murdered.
When she was paraded by the police in June, the 300 level student of the University of Lagos said she killed him while trying to force himself on her.
She had sought forgiveness, saying she did not want to die.
“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 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,” Ojukwu had said at the time.
But in a later video, Ojukwu said she knows nothing about Ataga’s death
“I didn’t injure anybody. I don’t know who must have come into the apartment and did that… I don’t know who that person is. I don’t know what happened. I did not kill him,” the suspect said.
She, however, admitted that they spent time together, drinking and smoking before he died.
Ojukwu claimed that she was not inside the apartment at the time he was killed.
The 21-year-old further revealed that Ataga was having issues with his wife and was not in a happy marriage, as it was more of catering for his kids.
She also described the deceased as someone who got angry quickly and was always busy.
Ojukwu denied having N10m in her account, adding that she had about N400-500,000 in her account.
According to her, she made money from selling a laptop which the deceased gave her.
“He was actually a busy person, but at a point, I found out that he lies a lot just to be able to have sex with young girls.
“He wasn’t having a good marriage either because I noticed he had issues with his wife. They had a marital crisis, and he was there only for the kids,” she said.
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