The scheduled trial of Chidin­ma Ojukwu, the alleged killer of the Chief Executive Officer, Super TV, Usifo Ataga, before a Lagos State High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, couldn’t go on Wednesday as the prose­cution was yet to reply to the written address of the defence.
The court had on November 17, 2022, fixed January 11, 2023, for the adoption of written ad­dresses of the prosecution and the defence in the trial within trial to ascertain if the defendant made statements at the police station voluntarily.
On the last adjourned date the defendant had told Justice Yetunde Adesanya, that she was slapped and forced to sign statements written by policemen in the state.
Chidinma, who testified in her trial-within-trial as defence witness 1, stated that policemen including Assistant Superinten­dent of Police, Olusegun Bam­idele, and Olufunke Madeyin­lo, told her to sign statements against her will.
She said Bamidele told her to narrate the statement he wrote to the state Commissioner of Po­lice after tearing the statement she wrote.
Chidinma is standing tri­al over the alleged murder of Ataga. She is also charged with stealing and forgery along with her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, and one Adedapo Quadri.
At the resumed hearing of the case which was slated for the adoption of written addresses of the trial within a trial, the case could not go on as the Lagos State prosecuting counsel T. E. Onilade, informed the court that they just received service of the address from the defendant last week.
Onilade said; “The first de­fendant’s address was served on us during the festive period. The address which was dated December 23, 2022, was served on the Attorney General’s office on December 30, and we only re­ceived service last week, but we have not replied.”