…alleges ‘he was stabbed multiple times’
Dr. Isi Ataga says his brother, Super TV CEO, Usifo Ataga, was bound, gagged, and tortured before he was killed.
Ataga’s body was found in a hotel room where he had spent the night with a 300 Level student of the University of Lagos, Chidinma Ojukwu, who had already confessed to stabbing him to death.
Ataga’s brother, Isi, in a statement, on Monday, titled, ‘Who will speak for Usifo Ataga?’ stated that he doubted that his killing was carried out by a single person because of the manner in which it was done.
According to the statement, “Usifo died a horrific death. He wasn’t stabbed two or even five times; he was stabbed multiple times. His hands were bound tightly and the marks were still all over his wrists, accompanied by evidence of torture and assault even as his corpse lay in the morgue.
“And no one in the entire building heard his screams because he was gagged. Let that sink in, he was bound, gagged and tortured!
“The now-viral video of the room with the deceased lying on the floor shows a room with blood-stained walls and floor, evidence of a ferocious struggle. One person could never have carried these out.”
Already, the police in Lagos have arrested and paraded, Ojukwu, the prime suspect in Ataga’s murder, Chidinma Ojukwu.
The 21-year-old student of the University of Lagos, while being paraded had confessed to journalists that she stabbed Ataga to death at a hotel where they lodged in Lekki, Lagos.
According to her, “We were in the lodge smoking. He was trying to make advances at me. I was tired and he became violent on it. I let him have his way. Towards afternoon, he ordered roofies. We took it together and ate food. He became high. I was still not happy with the first one (sex) that we had, so, I was staying on my own, smoking and drinking. He, too, was on his own.
“He came to me and I was like I am not happy with what he did. I was like, ‘You don’t help me, you don’t assist me with anything, you are just playing with me around’. He was like, ‘Take my ATM and withdraw what you want.
“He later became violent trying to get to me and I was resisting and defending myself. At some point, he hit my head on the wall and I also retaliated.
“At some point, he was chasing me around the kitchen cabinet. I took a knife and stabbed his neck. I approached the door and he followed me. I stabbed him twice on the neck side. I threw the knife to the bed and he was going for it but I also went for it. He dragged the knife with me and it broke and he fell on the floor.”