Crime
Ataga: Police forced me to write false statement, says Chidinma
Chidinma is standing trial for the alleged murder of the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Michael Usifo Ataga.
In her defence before Justice Yetunde Adesanya at the Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, Chidinma said fear prevented her from speaking the truth during her interactions with the police.
“Because of the fear that the Investigating Police Officer, Mr. Bamidele, and his team put in me, I couldn’t say anything contrary to the narration he asked me to tell the Commissioner of Police,” she testified.
Chidinma, Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, are facing charges of stealing and forgery.
They were arraigned on October 12, 2021, on a nine-count charge.
The defendant, who opened her defence on April 17, 2025, narrated how she was arrested on June 23, 2021 and interrogated.
“The IPO, Mr. Bamidele, collected my phone and asked me to input my password, which I did. He went to my contact list and searched for my sister’s name. He asked me to confirm it, then wrote it down.”
She continued, “He asked me about my laptop and what I went to do at Computer Village. I told him I went to repair the laptop on the table and sold another one. He asked which one I sold, I said a MacBook. He asked where I sold it, I said a phone vendor, and then he wrote the address down.”
Chidinma said Bamidele also questioned the cannabis she and Ataga allegedly smoked.
“He asked where I got the cannabis from. I said I have someone who supplies me. He asked who, I said Quadri. He asked for his number, I said it was on my phone, and he wrote it down.”
“When he asked about Michael’s ATM card, I told him I didn’t have it. He said N5m had been withdrawn and another N20,000 withdrawn a few times, totalling N5,380,000. I said, ‘Sir, I don’t know anything about it.’”
She told the court that, following the interrogation, Bamidele claimed to have gathered evidence and ordered her to write her statement.
When she protested that she had already written a statement and her lawyer was absent, she was slapped.
“I said, ‘Sir, I’ve written my statement and you tore it. Now you want me to write another one and my lawyer is not here.’ Then I got a slap on the back,” she recounted.
“I picked up the pen and told him I wasn’t feeling fine and needed to rest. He said there was no time for that.”
She said as she began writing, her hands started shaking.
“He collected the pen and said I was too slow. Then he started asking questions about my name, age, address, school, and state of origin. After that, he stopped asking and started writing the statement himself.”
She continued, “When he was done, he gave it to me to read. I said, ‘Sir, your handwriting is illegible, I can’t read it.’ He read it to me. I said, ‘Sir, these allegations are all false.’ He said, ‘That will be your story, better comply.’”
She told the court her hands were handcuffed to the seat she sat on.
He said, ‘Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the CP’s office and this is what you are to say.’ He then left me in the interrogation room, with one hand handcuffed to the chair and the other free so I could flip through the pages.”
The next morning, on June 24, 2021, Bamidele returned with another officer identified as Chris.
“They removed the handcuff, gave me water to wash my face, then asked me to narrate the statement. I missed some words and Bamidele said we were going to the CP’s office.”
“I asked if my lawyer had come. Mr Chris said I should stop being stubborn, that they’d get a government lawyer for me.”
She said when they arrived in Ikeja, the other officers exited the vehicle and she was left with Bamidele. “He asked if I still remembered the statement or if he should read it to me again.
He said, ‘Listen to me carefully, do not say otherwise to the CP if you love your life.’”
At the CP’s office, she said she narrated the story Bamidele had instructed her to tell.
“I couldn’t say anything different because of the fear. The officers brought in my father and asked him if he knew me. He said, ‘Yes, that’s my daughter.’ We were both handcuffed.”
She added, “Mr. Bamidele told me some journalists would be asking questions and I should stick to the narration. He took me to an open field and in less than a minute, people flooded around me with cameras. I answered their questions based on his instructions.”
After the police command visit, she said she was taken back to the station and into the DCP’s office. “Mr. Bamidele said he was going to record a video and I should narrate the same story. I said, ‘Sir, I’m tired, you’ve disoriented me, I need to rest.’ One team member said I should be allowed to rest for 20 minutes.”
“After 20 minutes, a young lady came and applied concealer to my face. She touched up my face. Then they held the video and Mr. Bamidele said I should start speaking. As I spoke, he stopped me and said, ‘Why are you speaking like you don’t know what you’re saying?’ I said, ‘Sir, my headache is affecting me.’”
They discussed among themselves and brought a flip chart. “As I spoke using the chart, Bamidele paused the video and said my eyes were too fixated on it. We started again. He said I was too slow and timid. We made videos several times until he found the one he liked, and then I was taken to the cell.”
Later that evening, she narrated that she was taken by another officer, Mr Oseni, to a different office where two female officers, Ms. Funke and Ms. Bola, were present.
“I was told to write another statement. I said there was already one. Funke told me to shut up and sit down. She brought a black file and a blank paper.”
“I said I was reluctant. Then a male officer smashed my head on the table. I said I was hungry, and Bola said, ‘We don’t have time for that. When you’re done, you’ll get food.’”
She wrote her name, address, and phone number before Funke took the statement, wrote a heading on it, and returned it to her. “She started dictating. My handwriting was small because I was weak. Afterwards, Oseni took me to the cell.”
“Nothing in the statement is true,” she told the court. “Not even the part about buying food from Blackbell Restaurant. He said, ‘Please sign,’ which I did, and he took me back to the cell.”
Justice Adesanya adjourned the case until May 7, 2025, for continuation of trial.
Two police officers have been killed after suspected armed herders ambushed the convoy of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Ayilamo, Logo Local Government Area of Benue State.
The latest attack occurred on Monday evening, barely four days after another deadly incident in the community reportedly left four policemen and seven residents dead.
Community sources said the DPO had travelled to Makurdi on official duty and was returning to Ayilamo when his entourage came under attack.
One of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the victims were among newly deployed Mobile Police officers stationed in the area.
He said the officers were attacked at about 6pm while travelling from Ayilamo to escort the DPO back to the community from Makurdi.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, DSP Peter Aondongu, said two officers attached to the DPO’s entourage were killed in the attack.
“The DPO came to Makurdi to collect some things, and while returning to Ayilamo, he was attacked and lost two of his men in the attack,” Aondongu said.
The latest incident has raised fresh concerns over the security situation in Ayilamo, where repeated attacks have resulted in casualties among security personnel and residents.
The Nigeria Police Force has placed its formations nationwide on red alert following intelligence reports of planned terrorist attacks on worship centres, schools, NYSC orientation camps and other public places.
The alert followed fresh intelligence indicating increased mobilisation of terrorist elements for possible coordinated attacks on vulnerable targets across the country.
Police authorities also reportedly received intelligence on the movement of armed elements from Katsina through Kaduna towards Plateau State.
The operational order was contained in a police wireless message dated September 13, 2026, with reference number CB: 0900/FDPS/DOPS/FHQ/ABJ/VOL38/68, issued by the Department of Operations at Force Headquarters, Abuja.
Marked “Security General” and tagged “Treat as Very Important,” the message was circulated to Assistant Inspectors-General of Police overseeing Zones 1–17, Mobile Police formations, counter-terrorism and other specialised units, as well as Commissioners of Police in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The police directed formations to intensify vigilance and take proactive measures to prevent criminal and terrorist elements from carrying out attacks.
The warning specifically highlighted places of worship, educational institutions, NYSC orientation camps and other vulnerable public locations as potential targets.
A 16-year-old boy, Favour Ayogu, who was allegedly abducted in Igboeze South Local Government Area of Enugu State, has been rescued in Onitsha, Anambra State, after his abductors reportedly abandoned him near a security checkpoint.
Ayogu was rescued on the evening of September 13, 2026, by a joint security patrol team operating along Oguta Road, Onitsha.
According to the Anambra State Police Command, the teenager was found at Ekene Junction after unidentified persons reportedly pushed him out of a black Toyota Highlander SUV close to a security checkpoint.
The patrol team immediately intervened and rescued the victim, thereby preventing what the police described as further danger to his life.
Following the rescue, the Command said it had intensified surveillance and intelligence-led operations to identify and apprehend members of the suspected criminal gang responsible for the abduction.
The police also appealed to residents of Igboeze South and Ibagwa-Aka in Enugu State who may have useful information about Ayogu or his family to contact the nearest police station or the Anambra State Police Command in Awka.
The Commissioner of Police, Anambra State, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, commended the security personnel involved in the rescue and directed officers to sustain strategic checkpoints, intelligence-led patrols and coordinated security operations across the state.
The Command assured residents and visitors that it would continue to intensify efforts to prevent criminal elements from using Anambra as a safe haven.
At least nine passengers have been killed after gunmen opened fire on a commercial bus at Dungus Junction in Kuru community, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The attack reportedly occurred around 9:40 p.m. when the bus, which was travelling towards Jos, stopped at the junction to drop off some passengers.
Several other passengers were reportedly injured in the attack and rushed to hospitals for treatment.
Lawan Suleiman, a neighbour and teacher of one of the victims, identified the driver as Ibrahim and said three of the victims were from his community in Bukuru.
“The driver is Ibrahim and he was my student. Three of them are from our community here in Bukuru. Their bodies have been deposited at the hospital. But relatives are preparing to collect them for burial,” Suleiman said.
The bus was reportedly riddled with bullets, with bloodstains visible inside the vehicle after the attack.
Rwang Tengwong, spokesman for the Berom Youth Moulders (BYM), also confirmed the incident, saying the victims were passengers travelling to Jos when the attackers opened fire on the vehicle.
Tengwong said one of those killed was a member of Operation Rainbow.
“The incident happened around 9.40 p.m. The victims were all passengers travelling to Jos when the terrorists opened fire on the vehicle. Among those killed was a member of Operation Rainbow. It is a very sad development and we lament the loss of lives,” he said.
He added that some passengers sustained gunshot injuries and were taken to hospitals, while some of the injured reportedly later died.
The attack has raised fresh concerns over the safety of commuters travelling along the route at night amid continuing security challenges in parts of Plateau State.
As of the time of filing this report, the Plateau State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
The Enugu State Police Command has ordered an investigation into two separate incidents of alleged disruption of political gatherings in Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state.
The incidents reportedly occurred on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at Ndiuno-Obuoffia community and St. Joseph Primary School, Agbani.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Command’s spokesperson, SP Daniel Ndukwe, said the Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to thoroughly investigate the incidents and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.
According to the statement, armed hoodlums allegedly disrupted a National Democratic Congress (NDC) ward meeting at Ndiuno-Obuoffia with sporadic gunshots, leaving two attendees injured.
In a separate incident at St. Joseph Primary School, Agbani, hoodlums allegedly destroyed canopies and chairs arranged for a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rally.
The police said operatives were promptly deployed to both locations after receiving reports of the incidents to prevent further breaches of peace and track down the fleeing suspects.
The Command, however, noted that neither of the political gatherings had been formally brought to the attention of the police for security coverage.
CP Giwa reiterated his warning that all political activities in the state must be conducted peacefully and in accordance with the law.
He stressed that electoral offences are punishable under the law and warned political parties, candidates, supporters and other stakeholders against violence, intimidation, destruction of property and other acts capable of disrupting public peace or the electoral process.
The Commissioner urged political parties and other stakeholders to notify the police ahead of campaigns, meetings, rallies and other political gatherings to enable the Command to make adequate security arrangements.
He assured residents that the police would continue to maintain a peaceful and secure environment for lawful political activities while dealing decisively with anyone found violating the law.
-
News2 days agoCommissioner Dies Suddenly at Abuja Hospital
-
Politics2 days ago2027: Odii: I’ll Attract ₦2tn Investment to Ebonyi in Six Months
-
News2 days agoSept. 26 Polls: ‘ENSIEC is over 90% ready’ – Chairman
-
Crime2 days ago
Gunmen Attack Commercial Bus, Kill Nine Passengers
-
Crime3 days agoEnugu Police Probe Alleged Disruption of Political Gatherings, Warn Against Violence
-
News2 days agoWhy Nigerian Leaders Should Spend Vacations at Home – Ebonyi Reps Candidate
-
News3 days agoHotel Building Collapses in Enugu Kills One, Traps Workers
-
Foreign2 days agoFour Nigerians Jailed 17 Years Over Fake Marriage Document Scheme in UK