Metro News

Day after Ataga’s remains were found, Chidinma called to ask about the Range Rover, guard tells court

Published

5 years ago

November 17, 2021

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The murder trial of the Chidinma Ojukwu, the principal suspect in the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, continued on Tuesday, with the security guard at the apartment narrating how he found Ataga’s remains.

Recall that Chidinma, a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, was accused of killing Ataga.

The undergraduate and two others, Adedapo Quadri and Chioma Egbuchu, are undergoing trial before Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos State High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos State.

The security guard, Abubakar Mohammed, who works at the security post of 19, Adewale Oshin Street, Lekki Phase 1, where Ataga was murdered, is the second prosecution witness.

In his testimony on Tuesday, Mohammed said he received a call from his boss, Nkechi Mogbo, around 5.30pm on June 13 that a lady was coming to check the apartment.

According to him, a lady later arrived at the property and he showed her the studio apartment for short-let.

“Around 10.30pm, one man came in a black Range Rover Jeep. My neighbour was hosting a party, so I thought the man came for the party.

“I asked him to park well, then the lady opened the gate and said’ stop, he is my person, just open the gate,’” he said.

The security man said Ataga and Chidinma stayed in the apartment from June 13 to 15 but on Monday, a dispatch rider came to deliver a package to Chidinma.

“On Monday, around 12.30pm, Ms Ojukwu went out and bought some things like food. Between 2.30pm and 3pm, I was at the front of my gate, a dispatch rider came and asked me, is this number 19?

“He said ‘there is somebody calling me with private number but there is no way I can call back because I can’t see the number.’ I told the man there is a customer in my house that uses a private number to call me. I told the dispatch man ‘if it is here, you can wait, the person will come,’” Mohammed explained.

He told the court that Chidinma came to the gate minutes later to meet the dispatch rider and she collected the package.

“After she left, I asked him what he brought for her, and he said he didn’t know what was inside,” he added.

The security man said on June 15, at about 8pm, Chidinma went out of the compound, carrying a small bag, and never returned.

Mohammed said the next day, waste collectors came to the street, and he called the cleaner, Confidence, to collect waste from all the apartments.

He continued, “She came back with few empty bottles and told me that the door to the studio apartment was open. I knocked several times without any response.

“Peeping through the door, I saw that the position of the chair in the room had changed, and it looked like it was used to block the door. I then peeped over the chair and saw a man lying on the floor, lifeless.

“I went out and called Confidence, then I showed her the body. I was trying to call my madam, but her call came in that someone’s money was due and he should leave the house by 12.30pm. I told her there was a problem and there was a body in the studio room.”

He said following Mogbo’s report to the police, Ataga’s body was evacuated from the room and they were all called in for interrogation by the police, adding that Ataga’s family came to the apartment the day after the body was found, but he refused them access, saying they had to call his ‘madam’ first.

“On Thursday, at 6pm, Ms Ojukwu called me with a private number, and my mind told me to record the conversation.

“I said, ‘why are you calling me with a private number?’, she said sorry. She said ‘that jeep, is it around?’ I asked her which jeep? She said black Range Rover.

“I asked her why she left on Tuesday night and never came back, she said she went for a meeting. I asked her what about the man, she said the man is fine.

“I asked what time she was coming back, but she said she was coming. I then asked her to use her phone number to call me and she said okay,” he said.

He told the court he had gone to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, for interrogation over the matter and was held for a day.

After his release, he said he searched his phone to look for the phone number that called him around 2pm.

“I put the number on my WhatsApp and changed my profile picture to President Buhari. I wrote a message on the WhatsApp number. I saw the picture and I screenshot it,” he added.

Mohammed stated that he sent the phone number and picture to the apartment owner, which was then forwarded to the police.

He said a week after the incident, he was called to go to SCID, Panti, that the suspect had been arrested and they needed him to identify her.

Onwka Egwu, the first defendant’s counsel, cross-examined Mohammed following his testimony.

After the cross-examination, the judge adjourned the matter till November 17, for continuation of trial.

Metro News

NDLEA arrests South African woman with drug shipments, seizes large consignment of drugs at Lagos airport

Published

11 hours ago

October 11, 2026

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have arrested a South African, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, with 30 parcels of Thai Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 32.74 kilogrammes, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the drugs were concealed in two travelling bags.

The statement added that the suspect travelled from Thailand through Doha aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431.

“She confessed to having previously trafficked through other African countries, and was expanding her route to Port Harcourt when she was caught.”

Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted a shipment of 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg weighing 307.20kg from Pakistan.

Babafemi said the consignment arrived aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight on September 29 and was placed under surveillance before a joint examination on Tuesday, October 6, uncovered the drugs in nine cartons.

In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers intercepted 70 parcels of Colorado, a synthetic cannabinoid, weighing 75.90kg in six Ghana-Must-Go bags contained in a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom.

The statement said the shipment was monitored after arriving on September 29.

A clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on September 30, while an Uber driver, Taofiq Ajibola, 54, was apprehended while collecting one of the bags at a logistics company in Mafoluku, Oshodi.

The agency said Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader, were subsequently arrested when they came to collect the remaining five bags.

According to Babafemi, Ajibola said the drugs were sent by a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, while Dosunmu claimed his consignment came from another UK-based man identified as Yusuf.

In Cross River State, NDLEA operatives arrested 46-year-old Adama Inuwa at Iyala Nkun village, Ikom Local Government Area, on Sunday, October 4, following surveillance.

Babafemi said the operation led to the recovery of 181 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,100kg and 17.15kg of cannabis seeds.

In Edo State, officers intercepted a black Toyota Camry conveying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83kg at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area, on Monday, October 5.

The agency said Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20, were arrested in connection with the seizure.

In a separate raid at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, operatives arrested 26-year-old Ojugo Mercy with 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.

In Ondo State, a 21-year-old suspect, Happy Endurance, was arrested at her hideout in the Shasha area of Akure on October 5, with 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290kg.

The statement added that a separate raid on an apartment at Oba-Ile, Akure, on the same day led to the arrest of 42-year-old Tunde Adebayo, with 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351kg.

In Taraba State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, at Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area, on Friday, October 9.

Babafemi said the suspects were found with 166,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 107kg.

In Kano State, a stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road on October 9 led to the arrest of 32-year-old Yahaya Musa with 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.

In Kaduna State, operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway arrested 29-year-old Mohammed Musa with 31 jumbo bags and 775 blocks of skunk weighing a combined 1,027kg.

The agency also arrested Musbau Balogun Adekunle in Orile, Lagos, on Tuesday, October 6, with 32.51kg of skunk and 52.65kg of cannabis seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16kg.

In Plateau State, NDLEA operatives raided the residence of 45-year-old Christian Chukwudi Uju at Rukuba Road, Jos, on Thursday, October 8, recovering methamphetamine, firearms and ammunition.

According to the statement, the items seized included 47 grammes of methamphetamine, two pump-action rifles, one locally made gun, 199 live cartridges, five rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one round of 9mm ammunition.

The agency said its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign also continued across the country, with lectures delivered to students and staff of schools in Oyo, Ebonyi, Niger, Kano, Lagos and Ogun states.

Among the institutions reached were Progressive Grammar School, Tede, Oyo State; Eghugo Technical College, Afikpo, Ebonyi State; Baptist High School, Lambata, Niger State; and Ipara Senior and Junior Community Secondary School, Badagry, Lagos State.

Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised personnel of the Lagos, MMIA, PHIA, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Plateau Commands.

Babafemi said Marwa commended the officers “for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach to the various successful operations” and urged them “to continue with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.”

Metro News

NDLEA arrests 83-year-old ex-convict with Colorado, meth in Abia

Published

13 hours ago

October 11, 2026

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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have rearrested an 83-year-old grandmother, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, with consignments of methamphetamine and Colorado.

The arrest comes barely a year after the grandmother was convicted of drug-related offences.

Uloma was first arrested on May 17, 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at the same residence.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

According to Babafemi, the octogenarian was arrested on Wednesday, October 7, at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, with the substances allegedly tied around her waist with a wrapper.

Her arrest followed credible intelligence indicating that she operated a notorious drug joint allegedly harbouring criminal elements terrorising the community.

During her first arrest in May, operatives recovered 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol from the Uloma and her daughter.

According to the statement, “Both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of N200,000 each. They paid the fine and were released by the court”

The NDLEA spokesman alleged that the elderly woman returned to the illicit drug trade after her release.

“Undeterred, the notorious old woman promptly returned to the criminal trade and escalated the scale by setting up a drug joint where she harbours dangerous characters,” the statement added.

Metro News

Varsity lecturer dies after sex romp with prostitute in hotel room

Published

4 days ago

October 7, 2026

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A senior lecturer at the Edo State-owned Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, identified as Dr. Matthew Uwuigbe, has repeatedly died in a hotel room after an alleged sexual encounter with a 21-year-old commercial sex worker, identified as Angela Defa Jacob.

The incident, according to a report by Punch online, happened on Sunday at a hotel in the Mosco area of Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

It was gathered that the lecturer had checked into the hotel with the sex worker and died moments after the romp.

Spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command, Eno Ikoedem, who confirmed the incident, said three persons have been arrested in connection with the incident.

She said, “On October 5, 2026, at about 8 pm, the command received a report that Matthew Uwuigbe, a lecturer at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, had lodged at a hotel in Ekpoma and engaged the services of a 21-year-old sex worker, Angela Defa Jacob.

“He subsequently sent the woman to purchase water for him, and upon her return, she found him lying dead in the room.”

Ikoedem said the hotel owner, the manager and the sex worker are currently in custody while investigation continues. The corpse, she added, has been deposited at the Oriaifo Memorial Hospital mortuary.

The university’s Public Relations Officer, Otunba Mike Ade Aladenika, confirmed that Uwuigbe is a staff member of the institution, but said the incident occurred outside the campus.

“We are not denying that he is our staff, but whatever he did and what happened, it is his private life. The girl in question is not our student, and everything happened outside our institution,” he told the News outlet.