A Lagos high court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, heard yesterday how the family and friends of SuperTV owner Usifo Ataga searched for him until they found his body in a mortuary on his birthday.
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A witness, Rotimi Albert, was giving evidence before Justice Yetunde Adesanya in the trial of Chidinma Ojukwu charged with Ataga’s murder.
Ojukwu, an undergraduate, is being tried with her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, and one Adedapo Quadri.
Albert, who introduced himself as a schoolmate and family friend of the late Ataga, said he tried unsuccessfully to call the deceased on June 17, Ataga’s birthday, to send him birthday wishes.
The witness said Ataga’s phone rang but there was no answer, so he sent him a WhatsApp message, which was delivered.
“I was surprised when he didn’t return my calls nor reply my messages. I started calling other friends to ask if anyone had seen him, even his siblings abroad called me to ask about Ataga’s whereabouts. His wife and family were also looking for him because they were supposed to celebrate his birthday with him in Abuja,” Albert said.
The witness told the court that Ataga’s wife reported to the police about their worries.
He said Ataga’s phone was tracked and it was noticed that it was last used at University of Lagos guest house on June 16.
According to him, since it was already late, he and a mutual friend went to University of Lagos guest house the next day, June 17, to search for Ataga’s vehicle but it was not there.
He said the phone tracker also indicated that the phone was used at Alagomeji area of Yaba, adding that the tracking became difficult because whoever had it kept moving.
“Then, we got a call that Usifo was deceased and in the mortuary. We went to Panti police station where we found out that the police had already visited the crime scene. After going to the crime scene, the police told us to go to the mortuary to identify the body so we went and confirmed it was Usifo Ataga.
Justice Yetunde Adesanya adjourned the case until February 14, 2022.
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