The police have arrested a university student accused of killing Usifo Ataga, the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV.
Ataga was said to have been found in a pool of his blood with multiple wounds on his body after the media mogul was stabbed to death at a hotel where he reportedly lodges in the Lekki area of Lagos.
Chidinma Ojukwu, a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), was paraded on Thursday at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Hakeem Odumosu, told reporters at the briefing that the suspect had confessed that she stabbed Ataga.
He disclosed that the owner of the rented apartment where the tragic incident occurred has been arrested and held in police detention.
Odumosu added that Ataga’s bank account has been blocked in a bid to prevent further withdrawals by those taking advantage of his untimely death.
During a session with reporters, 21-year-old Chidinma gave an account of what transpired between her and the late businessman whom she accused of raping her.
She claimed that Ataga made a first attempt which was successful, noting that the unfortunate incident took place after she resisted a second attempt.
“We were in the lodge smoking. 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 told him I wasn’t happy with what he did,” the suspect recounted.
She added, “He was like, ‘Take my ATM and withdraw what you want’. He later became violent trying to get to me and I was resisting and defending myself. At some point, he hit my head on the wall and I also retaliated.”
According to Chidinma, Ataga began to chase her at some point in the kitchen where she took a knife and stabbed him in the neck.
She explained that the media mogul followed her as she approached the door before she stabbed him twice on the neck side again.
“I threw the knife to the bed, and he was going for it, but I also went for it. He dragged the knife with me and it broke, and he fell on the floor,” she narrated.
Chidinma was paraded at the Police Headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos State on June 24, 2021.
