21-year-old 300-level mass communication student of the University of Lagos, Chidinma Adaora Ojukwu, has revealed that she was high on drugs and alcohol when she attacked and stabbed Michael Usifo Ataga to death during their stay in a short-let apartment in Lagos.
According to Chidinma Adaora, who hails from Arochukwu in Abia State, “I met him about four months ago through a friend. But this was the first time we were staying together.”
Explaining further, Chidinma said: “He asked me to search online for a short-let apartment, I sent it to him and he said I should go check it out, which I did. He then paid for it. That was on 16th June, 2021.
“On Monday, we were together, drinking, smoking, we had fun together, later I went out to get food for both of us. Then on Tuesday, he was trying to make advances at me, I was tired but he became violent.
“Eventually, he got his way, which I let him. Towards afternoon we ordered for a smoke together that was what we took. We ate food, we became high, I wasn’t happy for the first one he did so I was sitting on my own.
“Smoking and drinking with my food. He was on the couch, later he came to me where I sat watching television and I told him I wasn’t happy with what he did in the first one. I told him, you don’t help or assist me but yet you just want to be playing with me around.
“He was like take my ATM card you can go and make withdraw what you want. He said the pin. I was like that is not what I mean, he became violent, trying to get to me and I was resisting and defending myself and at some point, he hit my head on the wall and I also retaliated. He was choking me when I was at the kitchen cabinet I lenned on, I stretched out to the knife and stabbed his neck.
“I attempted severally to leave when he became violent but he stopped me. Contrary to the rumour that I collected five million from his account, it was only N380,000.00 I withdrew from his account.
“I don’t have that kind of money in my account. I felt a lot after the incident even though I went home straight without reaching out to anyone. He was the one that gave me his ATM card and pin after I complained that he wasn’t taking care of me.”
“I wanted to use the money I withdrew from his account to pay my fees. He was the one that invited the drug guy, he is always having a smoke with him, so I don’t know if that was the first time.
“In the last four months I have known him, we haven’t gone out like this, we just met and then go to the house in Victoria Garden City.
“I felt disappointed when the police came to my parents’ house to arrest me. It was 9 pm when the police came and arrested me on Wednesday it was already very late. I live with my parents I told my parents that I was going for ushering job. I used to do freelance ushering jobs.”
She stated further that “I checked into the short-let apartment with a foreign number, not because I had it all planned out or I didn’t want to be traced.
“The foreign number was what I used in contacting the lady that is in charge of renting out the short let apartment. I used an app to generate the foreign number.”
Parading the suspect, the Commissioner of Police Lagos State Command, Hakeem Odumosu, said on the 15th of June, 2021 the suspect, “Chidinma, checked into a service apartment in Lekki with the deceased Michael Ataga; they were there together as friends on Tuesday, she left the facility with the man inside.
“When the man didn’t come out on Tuesday, and Wednesday, the workers in charge of evacuating trash bins went in to carry out their normal duty and discovered that the apartment was a bit opened when they got in they discovered the victim in the pool of his blood with his underwear only.
“That was the beginning of the police investigation. Fortunately, on Wednesday, detectives were able to track her and got her arrested. She has confessed to committing the offense.
“She cut off the artery that supplies blood through the neck, and also on his stomach. She apparently changed and left him there on Tuesday. The corpse wasn’t discovered until Wednesday when police evacuated and began the investigation.
“She also disappeared with the victim’s ATM card which she claimed he gave to her voluntarily alongside with the pin which she went further to make withdrawals.
“He has been able to recover his driver’s license, complimentary cards, her bags, clothes, and some personal effects that the man came with.
“Also, the clothes she wore while the fight was ongoing which was fully soaked with the man’s stained blood were recovered.”
▪︎ By Vanguard