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General News of Wednesday, 5 October 2022

Source: www.premiumtimesng.com

Ataga: Court hears audio conversation between alleged murderer, security guard

The late Usifo Ataga The late Usifo Ataga

A Lagos High Court on Tuesday heard an audio recording of a phone conversation between Chidinma Ojukwu and Abubakar Mohammed, a security guard at the apartment where Usifo Ataga, the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, was allegedly murdered.

Miss Ojukwu is standing trial for Mr Ataga’s murder before a Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square.

She is also charged with stealing and forgery alongside her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, and Adedapo Quadri.

In the audio recording, the court heard Miss Ojukwu saying hello while Mr Mohammed also responded by saying hello.

Mr Mohammed also asked, “Who is this?”

Miss Ojukwu, the first defendant in the charge, responded, “It is me”, and then asked the security guard about Mr Ataga’s car.

She asked, “Is the car around?”

“Which car?” Mr Mohammed responded, and Miss Ojukwu said, “the Range Rover, that my oga’s car, the black Range Rover.”

The court also heard when Mr Mohammed asked her why she had not returned since Tuesday night that she left, and she said that she went for a meeting.

Mr Mohammed then asked her how about Mr Ataga, and she said he was fine.

In the conversation, the court further heard as Mr Mohammed told Miss Ojukwu that since she was not around, he could not go and knock on her room door.

He further asked her when she would be coming back. and she said, “I am coming.”

While she was saying she was coming, Mr Mohammed asked her to use her phone number to call him, so that he could have the number. She agreed.

Earlier, the Lagos State Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Adenike Oluwafemi, asked the ninth prosecution witness, Olusegun Bamidele, to confirm his testimony of 9 May, when he told the court about the security guard’s conversation with Miss Ojukwu.

Mr Bamidele confirmed the evidence and recalled how he testified that Mr Mohammed transferred the audio conversation to his Infinix Hot 4.

He said the audio was attached to his office desktop.

He told the court that with the help of a senior colleague with deep knowledge of information and communication technology, it was turned into a compact disc.

The witness said that he would be able to identify the disc.

When the disc was shown to him, he identified it and also told the court that he attached a certificate of compliance to it.

The prosecution tendered the disc in evidence but the first defendant’s counsel, Onwuka Egwu, objected on grounds that Mr Bamidele (PW9) was not the maker of the disc.

He said “The alleged maker of the CD is Mohammed (PW2)”.

He argued that there was no satisfactory reason for the prosecution to desire that the court should accept a ‘hearsay document’ when the author had given evidence as PW2.

Mr Egwu cited Section 83 1 (a) (ii), 2011 of the Evidence Act and said, “The prosecution has not laid any of this foundation for tendering of the document through Segun Bamidele.

“If the prosecution actually wants to rely on this document, PW2 ought to have been called,” he argued.

However, Mr Quadri’s counsel, Babatunde Busari, did not object, but counsel to Mr Egbuchu, the third defendant, C. J. Jiakponna, aligned himself with the first defendant’s counsel.

”Due process must be followed. This is a court of law, they did not lay the foundation, the author of this document is supposed to appear before your lordship. This is a hearsay”.

In her reply, Mr Oluwafemi said ”It is trite law that whatever the investigation police officer gathered as evidence is a direct evidence and not hearsay. Finally, admissibility is based on relevance.”

In a short ruling, Justice Yetunde Adesanya dismissed the objection of the defence.

Mrs Adesanya held that on 16 June, 2021, PW2, gave evidence about how he asked Miss Ojukwu some questions and she answered.

”The maker of the audio recording has already been called to this court, and there is no requirement of the presentation of the gadget, objection is hereby dismissed, I so hold,’’ she said.

The audio CD was marked as Exhibit PW22A and the certificate of compliance marked as Exhibit PW23B.

Ms Adesanya adjourned the case until 6 October for the continuation of trial.

The three defendants were arraigned on 12 October 2021 on a nine-count charge brought against them by Lagos State Government.

Messrs Ojukwu and Quadri are facing the first to eight counts bordering on conspiracy, murder, stabbing, forgery, making of bank statements and stealing.

The third defendant, Ms Egbuchu, is facing the ninth count – stealing of iPhone 7 belonging to the Ataga.

Messrs Ojukwu and Quadri are alleged to have conspired and murdered Ataga on 15 June 2021, by stabbing him several times with a knife on the neck and chest.

The alleged murder took place at 19 Adewale Oshin St., Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

The duo are also accused of committing forgery by procuring and making bank account statements purported to have been made by the deceased.