Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos State High Court, sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square, has dismissed the no-case submissions of Chidinma Ojukwu’s co-defendants in the murder trial of Super TV CEO, Michael Usifo Ataga.
The court ordered Adedapo Quadri and Chioma Egbuchu to open their defence.
Chidinma Ojukwu, alongside Quadri and Egbuchu, faces charges related to the gruesome murder of Ataga on June 15, 2021, at a short-let apartment in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
Ojukwu and Quadri are charged with conspiracy, murder, and stabbing Ataga multiple times in the neck and chest. Egbuchu, Ojukwu’s sister, faces a separate charge of stealing Ataga’s iPhone 7.
At Thursday’s hearing, the second and third defendants, represented by their respective counsels, Babatunde Busari and M.I. Otuaka, filed no-case submissions, asserting that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence linking them to the charges.
The state prosecutor, Yusuf Sule, countered the submissions, arguing that the prosecution had provided material evidence requiring both defendants to enter their defence.
On Quadri, Sule stated, “The prosecution has put forward material evidence linking the second defendant to the charges against him. We call upon him to enter his defence.”
On Egbuchu, he added, “We urge the court to dismiss the application for a no-case submission as the prosecution has established material evidence of a stolen phone in the case. We call upon the third defendant to enter her defence.”
After reviewing the arguments, Justice Adesanya dismissed the no-case submissions and directed both defendants to open their defence.
The trial was adjourned to February 20, 2025 for continuation.
