Chidinma sold Ataga’s laptop to me for N495,000 –Businessman – Newstrends
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Chidinma sold Ataga’s laptop to me for N495,000 –Businessman

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A businessman, Mr Ifeoluwa Oluwo, has narrated how the laptop of the murdered Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Michael Ataga, was sold to him for N495,000 by Chidinma Ojukwu two days after Ataga’s body was found.

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.

At the resumed hearing on Thursday, Oluwo, the third prosecution witness, was led in evidence by the Lagos State prosecuting counsel, Mr Yusuf Sule.

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Oluwo said he sells phones, laptops, and accessories at Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos, and has been in the business for five years.

According to him, after seeing Chidinma on social media after the sale of the laptop, he immediately ensured that all her documents were kept handy.

The witness identified Chidinma as a customer who had purchased a phone on April 30 and also sold a laptop on June 18, at the same office.

Oluwo said, “On June 18, Chidinma sold me a MacBook Pro laptop for N495,000 after negotiations and market value comparison. In order to make a sale, you have to submit some documents and fill a form with your government identification card, driving license, international passport, voters’ card, and National Identification Number.

“You also have to fill a form which includes email, phone number, house address, and full name. It will also contain the full value of the item for that day, the name of the item, and the serial number of the item.

“This is what we do to contact a customer if there are any issues.

“I asked Chidinma to unlock the laptop and she did. So, I conducted my internal observation which included speed performance, the circle count of the battery, and general functionality.

“After that, I proceeded to ask questions, ‘Do you have a receipt for this laptop?’

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“She stated that it was a gift from her boyfriend and that she had two laptops and needed to sell one to pay some bills.

“I conducted a check on a website for my market evaluation. I confirmed the value of the laptop. It was $1,000 to $1,200. The exchange rate of dollars at that time was N400 to N450 and she wanted to sell for N600,000. We were able to negotiate for N495,000, which I initiated from my UBA bank account to her Sterling bank account.”

When asked if Chidinma had produced the receipt of the laptop, Oluwo stated that she was not able to provide the receipt as she had insisted that it was a gift from her boyfriend.

“After the sale of the laptop, we saw her face on social media regarding a murder case. A few days later, the police from the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, invited my manager, Olutayo Abayomi.

“When I got to the police station, I discovered that it was in connection to the laptop we bought from Chidinma on June 18.

“We both made a statement detailing how we came about the laptop and how we made the purchase.

“We gave the police the documents of the former owner, which included a copy of her voters’ card, a copy of our form, and all receipts which already have her information regarding the laptop.

“There is no way we can detect that a phone or laptop was a stolen one,” Oluwo said.

During cross-examination, Chidinma’s counsel, Onwuka Egbu, asked if he was shown any documents, receipts, or proof of ownership to show that the laptop was not for the first defendant at Panti but the witness said he was not shown any.

Justice Adesanya adjourned the case till November 29, for the continuation of trial.

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Nigerian man kills wife months after relocating to UK

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Olubunmi Abodund with late wife Taiwo
Nigerian man kills wife months after relocating to UK

Olubunmi Abodunde, a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, reportedly beat his wife, Taiwo, to death with their son’s skateboard, according to the Daily Mail.

The couple, who had three children, arrived in the UK from Nigeria in 2022 and frequently feuded over reported relationships and financial disagreements.

According to the news outlet, 48-year-old Abodunde had been investigated by Suffolk Police several times for domestic abuse and was scheduled to stand trial for murder, but changed his plea to guilty on Wednesday after the jury was sworn in.

During the abuse, officers heard ‘a number of fringes’ inside the house, which Abodunde had entered despite bail restrictions imposed the day before that barred him from the residence due to another violent incident.

When they arrived 25 minutes later, they discovered Taiwo, 41, with her’skull bashed in’.

However, Judge Martyn Levett, sitting at Ipswich Crown Court, cautioned him that the only conceivable penalty was life imprisonment.

Suffolk Constabulary submitted itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct, which confirmed that three officers were being investigated.

An IOPC spokesman said, “We advised two Suffolk officers that they are under investigation for potential breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour at the level of gross misconduct.

“We advised another officer that they are under investigation at the level of misconduct.”

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Abodunde has a history of mistrust and distrust towards his wife, accusing her of having affairs. He had been probed by police several times for alleged domestic abuse episodes prior to his wife’s murder.

He was detained on April 27 of last year, when police came to the couple’s house in Newmarket, Suffolk, and discovered Mrs. Abodunde with a split lip.

Later that day, he was released on police bail with the condition that he stay away from the marital residence and avoid approaching his wife.

However, after completing a night shift at Tesco, he returned home shortly after 9 a.m. to reportedly pick up his mobile phone.

At 9.20 a.m., two cops arrived to take Mrs. Abodunde’s testimony regarding the previous night’s incident, and they heard persistent banging inside.

But it wasn’t until 9.55 a.m. that they pushed their way in with permission from senior officers and discovered Mrs. Abodunde ‘clearly dead’ near the front entrance.

A post-mortem examination revealed that she had been throttled until unconscious, then stamped on until her ribs were fractured, before her husband used the skateboard to kill her off. The hits were so hard that the skateboard was ruined.

Prosecutor Simon Spence KC told the court that the hammering officers heard was most likely caused by Abodunde continuing to assault his wife after she was unconscious or dead.

Mrs. Abodunde worked as a care home assistant in Cambridge, but her husband, a civil engineer by training, was unable to find work and took shifts at Tesco and Wickes.

Following his arrest for the murder, Abodunde was taken to the hospital “because he appeared to have some sort of mental episode.”.

He later argued in a police statement that he had acted in self-defence, saying, “My wife has subjected me to physical abuse for a number of years.

“On November 28, we got into an argument. She ran at me with a knife. I grabbed the knife and cut my hand. I was defending myself.”

However, the court heard that, while he had a hand injury, no knife was found near his wife’s body.

Nneka Akudolu KC, defending, said the amount of violence was ‘completely out of character’ for her client and could have been influenced by the medicine he was on. However, she stated that no medical evidence would be supplied to back her assertion.

Following the court, Suffolk Police Detective Inspector Dan Connick stated, “This was an awful attack on a woman that has had a long-term impact on the community and, most importantly, on the victim’s family.”

“We are pleased that Taiwo’s family will no longer have to go through the pain of a trial.

“Our thoughts remain with Taiwo’s family and friends, and we hope this result will bring some small comfort to them.”

Nigerian man kills wife months after relocating to UK

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Nigerian Army loses another major to bandits’ attack in Katsina

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Major AG Mohammed

Nigerian Army loses another major to bandits’ attack in Katsina

Barely one week after Nigerian Army lost two captains and four other soldiers in a deadly ambush in Niger State, another officer has lost his life to bandits’ attacks in Katsina State.

According to a report by security analyst and counter insurgency expert Zagazola Makama, on Friday, Major AG Mohammed, died while confronting bandits.

“The news of the demise of Major Ag Mohammed of 17 brigade Katsina state, Operation Hadarin DAJI, is indeed heart wrenching.

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” Mohammed paid the supreme price while combating bandits in the North West of Katsina State. Until his death he serves as the command Covering yantumaki,Dan Ali and Kankara Axis. He was one of the most gallant, courageous and highly dedicated officers.

Nigeria has lost many gallant officers and soldiers to the bullets of Boko Haram (BH) insurgents, banditry, and other insecurities.

We therefore acknowledge with respect the services of our heroes—some of whom we admire for their courage, and outstanding achievements coupled with noble qualities that have laid down their lives for us to live,” the security expert said in a post on X handle.

Nigerian Army loses another major to bandits’ attack in Katsina

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Police arrest cultists for invading Anambra hotel with charms

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Police arrest cultists for invading Anambra hotel with charms

Eleven members of a suspected cult group who allegedly terrorised the inhabitants of the Ihembosi community in Anambra State’s Ekwusigo Local Government Area have been apprehended by Zone 13 Police Headquarters operatives in Ukpo.

The defendants were arrested for allegedly trespassing on Las Vegas Hotels Limited’s premises in Ubahu village.

About 12 more members of the group are believed to be on the run as authorities continue to pursue them.

According to a police source who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the agency, the suspects were arrested on Monday in response to a strongly worded petition to Godwin Aghaulor, Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 13 Police Command. The Zone 13 Police Command oversees police forces in Anambra, Enugu, and parts of Ebonyi states.

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Aghaulor, who verified the suspects’ arrests at his office on Thursday, stated that the police will conduct discreet investigations into the case to determine the intentions behind the action, while a manhunt has been begun to apprehend the fleeing criminals.

Chief Omenife Onwuatu, the proprietor of Las Vegas Hotels Limited, petitioned the AIG for his intervention to curb the menace of the cultist group, which he claimed invaded his hotel on March 10, 2024, with about 12 motorcycles, charms, cudgels, cutlasses, axes, and other dangerous weapons and terrorised the hotel’s owners, management, and staff, threatening to kill anyone in sight.

Onwuatu, who is also the Chairman of Ubahu village, had previously warned the group to stop performing rituals in front of the nearby stream and to relocate their shrine to its base, but his warning did not go down well with the suspects, whom he simply identified as “idol worshippers, who earn their living through rituals.”

Police arrest cultists for invading Anambra hotel with charms

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