The ongoing trial of a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Chidinma Ojukwu, charged with the murder of Usifo Ataga, Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, was on Thursday stalled for the fourth time due to the absence of her lawyer.
Counsel to Ojukwu, Mr Onwuka Egwu, had informed the court of his absence and applied for the vacation of Thursday as he was stuck in Anambra State due to a flight delay.
Ojukwu is standing trial alongside her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, and one Adedapo Quadri, before a Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square.
They were charged with a nine-count charge bordering on murder, stealing and forgery.
Ojukwu and Quadri are facing the first to eight counts bordering on conspiracy, murder, stabbing, forgery of bank statements and stealing.
Egbuchu is facing the ninth count of stealing an iPhone 7 belonging to Ataga.
At the resumed trial on Thursday, counsel to the second and third defendants told the court that they were not aware why counsel to the first defendant was not in court.
The prosecution counsel, Mrs Adenike Oluwafemi, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court that she was disappointed that the first defendant’s counsel was not in court and couldn’t even call.
She informed the court that they had a witness in court.
Also, a new counsel, Mr C. J. Jiakpona, announced his appearance for the third defendant, Chioma Egbuchu.
Jiakpona said that he is new in the matter and would need all the necessary documents to aid him to defend his client.
The prosecution counsel, however, informed the court that the former counsel to the third defendant, Mr Ngozi Akandu, has been given all the necessary documents.
She urged the new counsel to collect all the documents from Akandu to avoid delay.
Meanwhile, the second defendant’s counsel Babatunde Busari told the court that counsel to the third defendant had sought adjournment during the last sitting saying he needed time to get the necessary documents to follow his defence thereby delaying the process.
Busari stated that the delay which had been occasioned by the change of third defendant counsel in the past month should be avoided by the new counsel.
He said, “everything necessary to avoid the delay should be sorted out before the new legal year so that it doesn’t repeat itself in the new legal year”.
The third defendant had sometime in May changed her counsel from the office of the public defender to Mr Akandu.
But since Akandu took up the third defendant’s case, the case has been adjourned three times at the instance of the defence.
Justice Yetunde Adesanya, after listening to counsel, warned that moving forward such scenarios will no longer be tolerated again, as counsel will not be allowed to use excuses to delay the process.
She adjourned the case to 4th October for the continuation of trial.
The three defendants were arraigned on 12 October 2021.
They are being prosecuted by Lagos State Government.
Ojukwu and Quadri are alleged to have conspired and murdered Ataga on 15th June 2021 by stabbing him several times on the neck and chest with a knife.
The alleged murder took place at No. 19, Adewale Oshin Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos State.
The duo were also accused of committing forgery by procuring and making bank account statements purported to have been made by the deceased.