“Hours later, I put a call across to my security man on a different issue, upon which he made a remark that they have noticed body on the ground of the said apartment.”
A witness in the murder trial against Chidinma Ojukwu, the 23-year-old alleged killer of Michael Usifo, the chief executive officer of Super TV, has narrated how different leads point to the defendant as the prime suspect.
Nkechi Mogbo, the witness, is the owner of the short-let apartment at 19, Adewale Oshin Street, Lekki Phase 1, where Mr Usifo was murdered.
Ms Ojukwu and another defendant, Adedapo Quadri, were earlier arraigned on an eight-count charge at the Lagos High Court over the murder of Mr Usifo.
Mrs Mogbo, who was sworn on oath, was presented by Olayinka Adeyemi, the director of Public Prosecution, to assist in the murder trial.
She told the court that because she was new to the property business, she advertises her apartment on property websites like Airbnb for a short stay and have agents on the market that advertise for her.
“It is a self-serviced apartment, fully furnished with TV, DSTV subscription, internet, kitchen alliances, 24 hours power supply, and others.
“The only time we come to clean is just to take out trash, that happens every two or three days,” she said.
Mrs Mogbo said when clients get access through the agents or via the websites, they get direct access to her for booking and possible negotiation.
“On June 13, it was on a Sunday, I was at home. About 4 p.m., I got a phone call from a private number, the first I ignored and the second I picked up. Then there was a lady who said she saw the apartment online and enquired as to whether we have the necessary facilities, which I responded yes.
“She said she would like to have a look at it and I said she could. She sent a message on WhatsApp with the picture of the apartment obviously indicating where she got it from. I sent her the address and she confirmed she would be on her way to the place.”
The apartment owner said she put a call through to the security, Abubakar, explaining that the lady would be coming to see the place.
Upon checking, the lady, who identified herself with the name ‘Jewel’, said she would take the apartment for three days.
“She asked for payment details, which I forwarded across to her, within a couple of minutes, she sent the proof of payment of N125,000. It contained the initiator of the payment, Michael Usifo, from a GTB account, the time and date of the transaction, and my name as the recipient,” she said.
The owner said following the payment, the security man handed her the key to the apartment on the same day.
“Two days after, at about 5:30 p.m. – June 15, she was due to check out on June 16, I got a message from the lady that her friend would like to extend for three more days, and that he would be making the payment the next day, which would be on the 16th.
She said at 10 a.m. on June 16, she received a credit notification from the same GTBank account, confirming payment of N50, 000 for two additional days by the same Michael Usifo.
The murder
“Hours later, I put a call across to my security man on a different issue, upon which he made a remark that they had noticed a body on the ground of the said apartment.
She told the court she immediately started panicking but asked the whereabouts of the lady because the security man confirmed the deceased was a guy.
“He said she left the night before at about 7:30 to 8 p.m. and didn’t return. I got off the phone and tried to reach the lady. I put a call across to her but she cut the call, she then sent a message saying she was in a meeting. I didn’t want to alert her as to what I was aware of.
“I carried on saying the payment which you sent in the morning, unfortunately, wasn’t credited, so can you make the payment again because I made a mistake to acknowledge receipt.
“She said she would reach her friend for him to make the payment. Couple of minutes after, I got another initiation of payment for the same sum of N50, 000, from the same initiator, the person of Mr Michael.
“When she made the payment, I was already on my way to the property to get a proper understanding of what had happened, after which I went straight to the police station,” she narrated.
The apartment owner said she sent a message to the lady that she had received the initial N50, 000 which she claimed she didn’t receive, and that she had given the security man the cash of the extra N50 000, so she should pick it from him.
“I devised the means to lure her to come to the property, after the security had confirmed she left the day before. She sent a message that would like to use the N50, 000 for another two days.
Police Investigation
Mrs Mogbo further narrated that she filed a report at the Maroko police station, and police officers followed her back to the apartment to get photographs and a better understanding of what happened.
“I wrote a statement and left around 11 p.m. The police arranged for the body to be taken out to the morgue and took his personal items, car as evidence.”
She said she reported back to the police station the next morning, and they went to state CID, Yaba, where she met with the Deputy Commissioner of Police.
“I was made to write more statements and was detained for seven days, to assist with the case. During this time, I was interviewed, they collected different evidence.