By Mudiaga Affe, Olusegun Olanrewaju and Oluwatobi Adebayo
When news broke that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, was killed by his mistress, the picture that registered in the minds of many was probably the kind Nollywood would portray as “bad girls” in the movies.
However, in this case, the face of death is an alleged 21-year-old, Chidinma Ojukwu, whose innocent look, has left many wondering if the police have either nabbed the wrong person in this particular case, or not, or if she’s the face of a deadly gang that wreaked the havoc.
Chidinma, a 300-level student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), who was paraded last Thursday by the police in Lagos, sang in low tones how she stabbed 50-year-old Ataga at a ‘Short Service Apartment’, in Lekki, Phase 1.
The suspect, who continuously stared at the ground while responding to questions from journalists, confessed to killing the deceased after a heated argument while “having fun.”
Perhaps a drug addict, Chidinma said during her confession, “We were in the lodge smoking ‘SK’ and ‘loud’. He was trying to make advances on me. I was tired and he became violent on it. I let him have his way.
“Towards afternoon, he ordered roofies. We took it together and ate food. He became high.
“I was still not happy with the first one (sex) that we had, so, I was staying on my own, smoking and drinking.
“He, too, was on his own. He came to me, and I was like, I am not happy with what he did. I was like, ‘You don’t help me, you don’t assist me with anything, you are just playing with me around’.
“He was like, ‘Take my ATM and withdraw what you want,” she explained.
Chidinma stated further that she was defending herself from Ataga, whom she claimed hit her head against the wall and grabbed her neck for refusing his advances to have another round of sex.
“So, he became violent; I was defending myself and at some point, he hit my head on the wall and I retaliated. He was choking me and I was on the kitchen cabinet, so I stretched out and grabbed a knife and stabbed him twice in the neck and once in the stomach,” she told journalists.
The UNILAG undergraduate explained further that she absconded from the apartment after Ataga lost consciousness.
She also debunked reports that she withdrew N5m from the account of the deceased, using his ATM card.
“I withdrew N380, 000 and not N5m from his account. I feel a lot of remorse. I wanted to use the money I withdrew to pay my school fees. I felt disappointed when the police arrested me at my parents’ house and it was when I was arrested around 10 pm that my parents got to know about the incident,” she added.
What are Roofies?
Also known as Rohypnol, it is a tranquiliser about 10 times more potent than Valium. The drug is available as a white or olive-green pill and is usually sold in the manufacturer’s bubble packaging. Users crush the pill and snort the powder, sprinkling it on marijuana before smoking it. It could as well be dissolved in a drink or injected.
Effects of the pills?
According to information obtained from www.drugfreeworld.org, people feel the drug’s effects within 30 minutes and can last for up to several hours. The drug causes you to feel sleepy, weak, confused, and forgetful. It also renders you unable to move your body. Ingesting date rape drugs is also known as getting roofied.
The man, Ataga
Usifo Ataga was the CEO/ Founding Director of SuperTV, a streaming entertainment platform.
Born on June 18, 1971, the Edo State native had his primary and secondary education in the state, where he also bagged his first degree from the University of Benin in 1995.
The deceased was certified in Strategic Planning, Management, Project Planning, Business Development, and Negotiation.
About Super TV
ThisNigeria learnt that SuperTV is a content distribution marketplace platform that is designed for local and international live TV channels, content distributors, film makers, and independent TV producers to monetize premium, fresh, and library content directly to consumers (over 50 million mobile subscribers in Nigeria), using SuperTV’s ZERO-DATA for streaming technology.
SuperTV with this unique proposition allows consumers to enjoy streaming their best live TV channels as well as binge on their favourite movies, TV series, and other genres without worrying about the cost of data.
The shock of a parent
Like many other Nigerians, Chidinma’s father, who did not believe that his daughter was capable of the crime she was accused of, was arrested for “violently obstructing” the police from arresting his daughter at their Alagomeji, Yaba residence in Lagos.
Unlike Dr Umaru Abdul Mutallab, the man who reported his son, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, for attempting to detonate a bomb sewn into his underwear on a plane, Chidinma’s father never doubted the integrity of her daughter to the extent of suspecting her as a criminal, hence the defence he put up.
Social media trial
On social media, while some are calling for the swift prosecution of Chidinma, others are calling for leniency, citing her age and blaming the influence of hard drugs for her action.
A social media user, @drpenking referred to what he described as double standards displayed by some Nigerians over the issue, saying the comments were nauseating.
“If it was a 21-year-old man that killed a lady, it would have been, “A whole life has been lost because of one idiot that could not control his penis”, but because it was the other way round, Chidinma Ojukwu is a child and we should forgive her? The double standard is nauseating.”
Ex-president Goodluck Jonathan’s former aide, Reno Omokri, blamed Chidinma’s action on the influence of roofies.
“Unpopular opinion: The drug Chidinma Ojukwu was allegedly given is Rohypnol. Research it. It is a mind-altering, date rape drug. I sincerely doubt that she is a premeditated hardened killer. If she took that drug, she could not have been in her right mind that day,” he wrote.
JossieTunez wrote, “I’m seeing many watered-down comments on the Chidinma Ojukwu killing of her sugar daddy and frankly it’s annoying…if it was a guy that was the culprit, the country would be set ablaze.”
Although Chidinma has confessed to committing the crime, some Nigerians could not help but wonder if she acted alone, as the deceased was described as an amateur boxer, who trained regularly at Victoria Garden City (VGC) in Lagos.
Confirming the information, a social media user, @hotnikkle, claimed Ataga had a punching bag in the backyard of his home.
“Mind you, Osifo was an amateur boxer. I knew him when he used to stay at VGC. He trained almost every day. He had a punching bag back then in his house. Those of us that knew him are surprised that the girl could have overpowered Usifo, except he was asleep and the girl stabbed him,” he posted.
Unconfirmed reports have also been making rounds via messaging platforms, WhatsApp, with some alleging that the wife of the deceased, Brenda, was part of the plan to set up her husband to get a divorce.
Another alleged that the deceased was involved in a multi-billion naira business gone wrong and the suspect, Chidinma, was used as bait to get to him.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, however, said investigations into the crime were still ongoing.
More controversies
Meanwhile, gloom has continued to rage over the gruesome murder of Ataga. Commentaries are flying, anger expressed, concern flared, and surprise embellished in different columns on the issue, depending on who was throwing the can.
At UNILAG, shock is still the buzzword on campus as to how such a gentle-behaving lady became an overnight monster, even to the point of murder. Getting the authorities, staff, and students to talk has become a herculean task and those who yield to inquiries only do so on a note of anonymity.
For the university authorities, the news could not have come at a more inauspicious time. Activities are in top gear to mark the 51st Convocation ceremony on July 5. The saga has thrown spanner in the works, and the institution is finding it difficult to take a stand on the matter.
The list of the students graduating for the set (2018/2019) has already been released ahead of the convocation date.
As of the weekend, the university authorities have yet to respond to issues relating to the controversial murder of which details are still trending in social media.
On-campus, it was an atmosphere of shock and rage as staff and students milled to discuss the matter. One of our correspondents got the wrong side of a lecturer in the Social Sciences faculty who ordered him out of sight and the faculty premises for daring ‘’to cause trouble here.”
At another faculty too, security officials would not even allow the journalist to see any lecturer for talk. ‘’They are in the classes by now,’’ a security staff lied to the reporter. They were not.
Details later emerged about what led to the death of Ataga. The police cracked the nut last Thursday with the arrest and subsequent detention of Chidinma.
Let’s have solid mineral areas development commission now’
Aftermath
The owner of the rented apartment where the tragic incident took place has also been arrested. Police chief Odumosu said Ataga’s accounts had been blocked to prevent further withdrawals by those taking advantage of his untimely death to deplete his finances.
Character sketch
Chidinma, from a broken home, stays with her dad who is estranged from her mom.
Reactions
The news about Chidinma and Ataga has become a major topic of discussion on every social media platform as many people are reacting to the ugly incident.
Reports are being shared on the internet with controversial dogging issues all the way.
While some people were criticizing Chidinma, others supported her actions as they considered it as “self-defence” against the deceased.
A lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, questioned whether it was right to parade the girl at all since she had not been tried. But he got a somewhat revolting answer from a well-known cartoonist, Merlin Dollars Neearo, who posted that she had already confessed.
Abimbola Adebayo, posting on Facebook, said, “the girl that killed the Super TV CEO is a real devil. “She premeditated all that happened in the name of belonging to the big girls’ clique.’’
In a recent post shared on Instagram, a popular Nigerian actress, Nkechi Blessing, pelted Chidinma hard for the incident. The actress stated, “People are praying day and night, looking for their destiny helpers, but Chidinma killed her destiny helper because of greed.”
“Wasted life!’’ That was how George Elijah-Otumu, the coordinator of the Nigerian-American Press Association, summarised Chidinma’s alleged action. He asked, ‘’Chidinma, what led you into the abominable act you committed against another human being? Don’t you know that life is given only God?’’
On the other hand, some adopt a middle-of-the-road approach to the knotty issue.
In a reply to a post tagged ‘Tragedy of Lust between Wife & SideChick‘, Alaketu stirred debate on aspects of the issue. “Brenda ( Ataga)is a beautiful woman, a professional in the oil and gas sector and the mother of Ataga’s two children.
Puzzles
What would have made Ataga cheat on his wife, to pursue another woman, that is not as endowed as she is?” Alaketu asked in a Facebook post.
In reply, Olabode Asebiomo said, “there’s more to it (the matter) than side chick.”
Again, Abimbola Adebayo reacted, “The sugar daddy that other side chicks are chopping small-small. E reach Chidinma Ojukwu time, she kuku ma kill am for others!’’
And on the fringe, are the conspiracy theorists. A UK-based former Nigerian editor, Gbenga Alaketu, tagged the issue ‘as a tragedy’, especially from the drug consumption angle. ‘’What is roofie, he asks, referring to a slang in Chidinma’s ‘confessional speech”.
He answered the question himself, “This is a term for Rohypnol, a sedative that was made in the early 1970s by Roche and was used in hospitals only for deep sedation. It is now a fairly infamous date-rape drug. It has also been known to be used recreationally”.
Some accuse Brenda (Ataga’s wife’), a beautiful mother of two, of ‘collaboration’ in the matter, as a means of getting a divorce for the deceased.
One of them alleged that Brenda also has a boyfriend ‘’(Yes, Boyfriend) who is related to Chidinma.’’ “Sister, this account sounds too much like a faction. Although I believe the girl did not act alone,’’ another person posted to counter that belief. It appears the people behind the murder are already spinning disinformation to divert attention.
James Olorunmolu summarised the position of many when he said, “I never wanted to dabble into this issue for personal reasons. But I felt the lessons are more superior to any personal reasons. Also, the knowledge gain for parents and sponsors with young teenagers in the university would be community service for me.
“As a university lecturer, I know that dating married men are regular occurrences in our higher institutions. Her lifestyle is a reflection of the lifestyle of many young girls…’’
A former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, shared a video on his social media page and captioned it ‘Cold Blooded’.
Nollywood actress, Actress, Nkechi Blessing, said, “This life is not balanced at all, Chidinma killed her destiny helper because of greed.
They murdered my son -Ataga’s mom
Mrs Sylvia Ataga, the mother of Usifo Ataga, took to Facebook on June 17 to celebrate the 50th birthday of her son.
She was celebrating a son who had brought her great pain and sorrow in her old age, but it was on the same 17 June in Lagos, that the body of Usifo was found in an Airbnb facility in Lekki.
Sylvia was asked to verify the grim news, by one of her followers.
Other suspects
Other suspects in custody include the manager of the Airbnb, a vacation rental, as well as the security guards.
On interrogation, the security guards at the facility reportedly claimed that only a dispatch rider who brought some drugs for the lady came to look for the secret lovers.
A twist in the tale
Meanwhile, police detectives say have recovered a fake drivers’ licence and Nigerian passport from Chidinma.
Operatives said they found a Nigerian passport with No. B50010434, a fake drivers’ licence showing ‘Mary Johnson’ with the Chidinma’s photograph, and an Access Bank statement of account slip.
Others are a National Identification Card bearing her name, complimentary cards, a United Bank for Africa ATM debit card and a UNILAG identity card.
Current Events
Following Chidimma’s arrest, all hell will soon break loose, and further arrests are likely to be carried out in the days ahead. It is believed that Chidimma is scared and will reveal more.
