News
Police Forced Me to Sign Prepared Statement, Says Chidinma
- /home/rhoncare/pointblank.ng/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://pointblank.ng/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Usifo-and-Chidinma-1000x600.jpg&description=Police Forced Me to Sign Prepared Statement, Says Chidinma', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/rhoncare/pointblank.ng/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 69
https://pointblank.ng/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Usifo-and-Chidinma-1000x600.jpg&description=Police Forced Me to Sign Prepared Statement, Says Chidinma', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
Chidinma Ojukwu, the alleged killer of the Chief Executive Officer, Super TV, Usifo Ataga, on Thursday, told a Lagos State High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, 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 one, told Justice Yetunde Adesanya 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 alongside her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, and one Adedapo Quadri.
Addressing the court on Thursday, Chidinma, while being led in evidence in the trial-within-trial by her counsel, Onwunka Egwu, told the court that on June 23, 2021, she was in her room at home when her 10-year-old sister informed her that some men were asking after her.
The witness said, “Immediately, my sister called my Dad (her foster father, Onoh Ojukwu), who came out and asked who the men were? They said they were policemen from (SCID), Panti, and that they came to arrest me and to search the house or that I should go in and bring the (Ataga’s) phone.
“I said I don’t know where the phone and car is and one of the policemen slapped me. My dad said you cannot slap my daughter in my house and the policemen tried to enter the room from the passage.”
Chidnma said when the policemen were taking her away, she told her foster dad to call the family lawyer, Egwu, adding that when they got to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, she was taken to the office of a policeman, Razak Oseni, who, alongside other policemen, questioned her.
She said, “We went back to my house and then returned to the DCP’s office and he started questioning me. I told him I don’t know anything about the death of Mr Ataga, and that was when they made the video that was played in court.
“The DCP said I should make my statement then the IPO, Bamidele, took me to the interrogating room with Mr Chris, and gave me a blank statement form and asked me to write what happened.
“I started writing, then he (Bamidele) took my left hand and handcuffed it to the chair. I wrote what I said at the DCP’s office. While writing the statement, Bamidele read through it and said it was not what happened.”
Chidinma said she told Bamidele that she was writing what happened, adding that before she started writing the statement, she informed him to help her confirm if her foster father had called the family lawyer.
She said, “He (Bamidele) said my (foster) dad cannot make a call as he was in custody. That was when I started writing the statement. When he said the statement I wrote was not what happened, and I told him it was what happened, I received two slaps from Mr Jemiyo.
“Jemiyo and Chris sat at the back and Bamidele was facing me. He said you are going to write the truth, tore the statement I wrote, and presented another blank statement form. I told him I was writing the truth and you tore it.
“He said if I did not comply, my family, my dad, 10-year-old sister and relative will be charged in the murder case. He (Bamidele) brought out his phone, played the video obtained from the scene of the apartment and showed me pictures of Mr Ataga’s body.
“He said now you are going to write and then I started writing. He said why I am slow and I received another slap on my back. I told him that I was not feeling well and needed to rest. He (Bamidele) said there was no time, he then collected the statement form from me and he started writing. Chris then handcuffed my hands to the chair.”
Chidinma said Bamidele initially asked her questions but later stopped, adding that after he was done writing, he read the statement to her and she said what he wrote was not what happened.
She said, “He said this is what you are going to say or else my family will be charged. He read the statement to me again and told me that I should rehearse it. He said that is what I should tell the CP.
“Bamidele and Chris returned in the morning and said I should sign the statement but as I was reluctant in signing it, Chris said I should because nobody is coming for me and that they will provide me with a good government lawyer.
“After signing the statement, I was brought out of the interrogation room, given water to wash my face, and then we entered a vehicle and drove to Ikeja. When we arrived at Bamidele took me to the CP and I said what Bamidele wrote.”
She said after her interrogation at the CP’s office, she was taken down stairs where she saw a lot of people (journalists) with cameras, adding that she was not feeling well as at then.
Chidinma said, “After I was taken to the press, then we drove back to Panti where Bamidele said we are going to do a video recording, and he said I should say everything he had written in the statement and they recorded the video which was played here in court.
“I was returned to the cell; in the evening on the same June 24, Oseni brought me out of the cell, took me to an office, where Madeyinlo and another female officer Bola were. When Oseni left, I was given a blank statement form and I was told to write another statement.
“Jemiyo also walked in and I said I had already written a statement. I said I am tired and have not eaten. I was just sitting when Jemiyo came beside me and hit my head on a wooden table. This was when officer Bola had left.
“Madeyinlo said I should start writing. I picked the pen, wrote the date, my name, then she (Madeyinlo) started dictating to me and said that I should write what she said. I started writing and at the end of writing the statement, she asked me to sign.”
The Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy (CFRPA) has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Kano seeking the disqualification of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the 2027 presidential election over allegations of certificate forgery.
According to court documents seen by Daily Trust, the plaintiff alleged that Tinubu presented forged academic certificates from Chicago State University and a fake National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the 2023 elections.
The suit, marked FHC/K/CS/312/2026, lists Tinubu, INEC, and Chicago State University as defendants.
The plaintiff contended that Tinubu never attended Government College Lagos as claimed, noting that the school was established in 1974, four years after Tinubu allegedly graduated.
The CSO further argued that Tinubu does not possess a valid secondary school certificate, which is the minimum constitutional requirement to contest for the presidency.
It claimed that INEC had failed to act on its petition dated June 19, 2026, demanding clarification on Tinubu’s eligibility.
In its statement of claims, the group referenced a 2023 U.S. court ruling in In Re: Application of Atiku Abubakar (No. 23 CV 05099), which compelled Chicago State University to release Tinubu’s academic records.
The plaintiff insisted those records revealed false entries and inconsistencies, including a forged University of Cambridge General Certificate of Education.
The prayers asked by the plaintiff included declaration of forgery against Tinubu’s Chicago State University certificate, issuance of an order directing INEC to disqualify him from the 2027 presidential election, directing CSU to strike Tinubu’s name from its records and perpetual injunction restraining INEC from uploading Tinubu’s name as a candidate.
The plaintiff also submitted affidavits of non-multiplicity of action, witness statements, and letters to the NYSC and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, demanding disclaimers on the alleged fake NYSC certificate.
Following the abduction of yet-to-be-determined number of students writing the National Examinations Council examinations at Government Day Secondary School, in Lassa Town, Askira/Uba LGA of Borno state, the state police command has reportedly deployed security operatives to comb the forest in the area.
The aredevil terrorists stormed the school on Monday morning, killed one teacher and abducted many students.
The state command spokesperson, Nahum Daso, said security operatives confronted the attackers, preventing a larger-scale abduction.
“Around 9 a.m. in the morning, ISWAP attacked Lassa Day Secondary School. They shot sporadically. An unspecified number of students have been abducted.
“Security forces confronted them. For now, we have an unspecified number of students who were abducted. The CP deployed the Area Commander in Askira/Uba. They are currently combing the bush,” Daso said.
Also, President of the Borno South Youth Alliance, Samaila Kaigama, said the attackers wore military and forest guard uniforms.
“Yes. There was an attack on students writing NECO exams. The terrorists came around past nine. They passed the military checkpoint. They wore military and forest guard attire. They shot sporadically,” he said.
Kaigama said one teacher was killed while another sustained gunshot injuries.
“They killed one teacher from Chibok. They shot another, but not dead yet. They also kidnapped some students and women selling on the school premises. The numbers are not yet out,” he said
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Saturday, alleged that the Federal High Court ruling nullifying the recognition of the National Democratic Coalition (NDC) as a political party is part of a growing assault on Nigeria’s democracy.
The opposition party warned that the Lokoja court’s decision reflects a broader pattern of legal and administrative actions aimed at weakening opposition parties and shrinking the democratic space ahead of the 2027 general election.
In a statement, its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the cumulative effect of such actions would be to undermine political competition and entrench those already in power.
“The cumulative effect of these attacks is unmistakable: they weaken the opposition, narrow the democratic space and strengthen the hands of those already in power. This is not how a healthy democracy functions,” the statement said.
The party argued that the ruling’s implications extend beyond the NDC, warning that prolonged legal battles involving opposition parties could deny Nigerians meaningful political choices.
It also accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of failing to provide a level playing field for all political parties, insisting that democracy can only flourish where institutions remain impartial and political actors are treated fairly.
“This has not been the case under the Bola Tinubu administration,” the ADC alleged.
The party urged the judiciary to safeguard its independence as the country approaches another election cycle, stressing that public confidence in the courts is critical to the credibility of the democratic process.
“The judiciary remains one of the last lines of defence for our democracy and must never be perceived as an arena where political battles are settled on behalf of those who wield executive power. Justice must not only be done; it must be seen to be done,” Abdullahi said.
The ADC further warned that any perception of judicial bias in politically sensitive cases could erode public trust in constitutional democracy and the electoral process.
It called on opposition parties, civil society organisations, organised labour, the media, legal practitioners and Nigerians to unite in defending democratic institutions and protecting the country’s multi-party system.
According to the party, attempts to intimidate or weaken opposition voices threaten constitutional rights, including freedom of association and political participation.
“Yesterday’s target was the NDC. Tomorrow, it could be anyone who dares to offer Nigerians an alternative. We must not wait until the democratic space has been completely suffocated before we act,” the statement added.
The ADC reaffirmed its commitment to defending Nigeria’s democratic values and preserving a competitive multi-party political system.
