Prime suspect in the murder of Super TV Chief Executive Officer, Michael Usifo Ataga, Chidinma Ojukwu, on Tuesday expressed remorse over the businessman's death as she continued her testimony before a Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square.
Ojukwu, who is standing trial alongside Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, made the statement during cross-examination led by the state prosecutor, Y. Sule. The defendant, who has consistently maintained her innocence in the five-year-old case, said she regrets the circumstances surrounding Ataga’s death.
“I regret that he died,” she told the court when confronted with questions about her last interactions with the late CEO.
The prosecution alleged that Ojukwu was the last person seen with Ataga before his body was discovered in a short-let apartment in the Lekki area of Lagos in June 2021. Sule pressed further, confronting her with claims that she fled the apartment with the deceased’s gadgets shortly after the incident. Ojukwu denied these allegations, insisting that she was not the last person who saw Ataga alive and had no role in removing his devices from the apartment.
During the session, the prosecutor also questioned her about phones and a MacBook recovered at the time of her arrest. Sule tendered two receipts from a popular gadget store, Phone Hub, which allegedly documented her sale of a MacBook Pro for ₦495,000, with the money reportedly deposited into her Sterling Bank account.
Ojukwu admitted selling the laptop and receiving payment but denied knowledge of the receipts tendered in court. She confirmed she had visited the shop to sell the device but insisted she had not seen the documents until they were presented in evidence. Her lawyer, Onwuka Egwu, objected to the admissibility of the receipts, arguing procedural grounds, but Justice Yetunde Adesanya dismissed the objection and admitted the documents as exhibits.
Sule further questioned whether the sale of the MacBook occurred after Ataga’s death. Ojukwu responded that the transaction took place “days after” she left the short-let apartment, maintaining she had no knowledge of the events leading to Ataga’s death or what happened afterward.
The prosecutor also pointed out that a phone recovered from her contained her personal information, and she acknowledged that she had continued using the device after Ataga died. When asked if the MacBook was a birthday gift and whether she possessed its receipt, she confirmed both claims, stating that the giver had handed her the original receipt.
During re-examination, her counsel shifted focus to her educational background, asking whether she had any technical expertise that could have influenced her handling of the devices. Ojukwu responded that she was a 300-level Mass Communication student before her arrest and had no advanced IT knowledge or training.
Justice Adesanya subsequently adjourned the case to February 9, 2026, for continuation of trial. The defence has indicated plans to call four witnesses, while the prosecution has already called 10 witnesses in what has become one of Nigeria’s most closely followed homicide trials.
The case, which has spanned five years, stems from the discovery of Ataga’s body in a Lekki short-let apartment in 2021. The incident triggered widespread national attention and intense media scrutiny, with each court appearance drawing significant public interest as the trial progresses toward conclusion.
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