Saliu informed a Lagos High Court in TBS, that his friend of 10 years was killed like a chicken, noting that there were seven stab wounds on the deceased’s body.
A partner at Super Network Limited, the parent company of Super TV, Raman Saliu, on Monday disclosed that the late Chief Executive Officer, Usifo Ataga’s body was seen with deep cuts on his neck to the back, on the stomach, and around the ribs.
Saliu informed a Lagos High Court in TBS, that his friend of 10 years was killed like a chicken, noting that there were seven stab wounds on the deceased’s body.
Saliu, a network engineer and programmer affirmed that he got a call from the deceased saying he had blood pressure and he suggested some drugs to him and advised him to take a rest.
"We scheduled an executive meeting on Wednesday around 2pm on June 15, 2021, and I called him in the morning that an assignment was completed but he got no response.
"I later got a WhatsApp message from the deceased saying I saw your missed call, I took some drugs that have made me to be sleeping. The English grammar was suspicious and couldn’t have come from the deceased.
“I sent him a screenshot of the task they had talked about but his response was, ok great. I wasn’t convinced that the message came from the deceased because he would be excited over the task.
"I contacted Mr Usifo’s driver and Personal Assistant but they said they had not seen him. I went to the deceased’s hang-out spots where we had been together before his death and didn’t see him there.
"I raised the alarm on June 16, the deceased phone was going through but nobody answered it.
"The last message to the deceased was on June 16, at 10:30am, which said 'Bros where are you, I’m worried, My BP is rising.' But the message was read and there was no response.
"The following day, I got a call from Mr Ataga’s wife, Brenda Ataga, asking for the deceased’s whereabouts.
"We traced the deceased’s phone to Unilag, I got a phone call from the bank who I had asked to help trace a transaction that could help with a lead as to where the deceased could be.
"The banker called and said Mr Ataga made a transaction on Sunday and Monday to an Airbnb apartment (the short let apartment) and Sterling Bank.”
However, he said he learnt of Mr Ataga’s demise from Mrs Ataga and on June 23, he got a call from the police that Ms Ojukwu had been arrested with the recovery of the deceased’s phone and laptop.
The suspect was observed to have taken back to prison in a white bus and not the regular prison van.
The judge adjourned the case to February 17, 2022, for the continuation of trial.
Chidinma Ojukwu, a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, and two others are on trial over Ataga’s murder.
The alleged murder took place at the Lekki Phase 1, area of Lagos State.