Constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) has been approached by the family of late Mr Michael Usifo Ataga, who was brutally murdered on the 15th of June, 2021 in Lekki, Lagos as their counsel in court.
Ozekhome, who spoke to our correspondent in Lagos, said he has been briefed to protect and defend the interests of the Ataga family and his teeming friends, admirers, kinsmen, and business associates, to ensure that justice is duly served in the matter, and that justice is not only done, but manifestly seen by the public to have been done.
The Ataga family, in its instruction letter to Chief Ozekhome, decried the low level of professionalism exhibited so far by the Police in bringing to book and prosecuting professionally, the perpetrators of the heinous crime that led to Ataga’s unprovoked and cold blooded murder.
Only few days ago, the family of late Ataga had accused the Lagos state police commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu, of being complicit in an alleged attempt to protect the killers of Ataga.
The family said they were shocked that the prosecution of the 21-year old prime suspect in Ataga’s murder, one Chidinma Ojukwu of the Mass Communication Department, University of Lagos, was arraigned at a Chief Magistrate’s Court, Yaba, without being informed about the arraignment.
The family had also accused the Lagos state Police Commissioner, Mr Odumosu, of being complicit in bungling the case of Ataga’s murder through his lack of depth, thoroughness, and professionalism in his investigation of the brutal murder.
It will be recalled that Chidinma Okukwu, a 21-year old Mass Communications student of the University of Lagos, was arrested by the Police on June 23, 2021, for the alleged murder of Super TV owner, 50-year old Usifo, with whom she had a romantic relationship.
Usifo had been found dead on June 15, 2021, with ghastly, multiple stab wounds all over his body, at the said short rental apartment on Adebowale Oshin Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, which Chidinma had personally booked.
The ghastly wounds showed evidence of sustained torture. Chidinma had voluntarily confessed in her first public outing to stabbing Usifo severally with a knife under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and withdrawing the sum of N380,000 from the victim’s account with his ATM card.
She was later to backtrack on this confession in a carefully arranged televised interview, where she claimed she had allegedly acted in self-defence.
Usifo was later buried on July 30, 2021, at a solemn low-key ceremony at the Ebony Vaults, Ikoyi, Lagos, after a funeral service at the Lady Perpetua Help Catholic church in Victoria Island, Lagos
