The Lagos State Police Command has explained the reason Chidinma Ojukwu, the prime suspect in the killing of Usifo Ataga, the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, has not been taken to court.
The 21-year-old University of Lagos undergraduate has publicly confessed to killing Ataga in a Lekki service apartment where his corpse was discovered the next day.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, told The PUNCH on Wednesday that Chidinma would be taken to court after the police had concluded their investigation.
“We will take her to court when we finish the investigation; we are still investigating,” he said.
However, a Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist, Jiti Ogunye, urged the police to get a remand order to justify the suspect’s continued detention.
Ogunye, who noted that sections 35 and 36 of the Constitution gave the police the right to detain a murder suspect, also stated that the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos mandated them to obtain a remand order to justify a suspect’s continued detention.
“The detention of this lady is not unconstitutional if a remand order has been obtained; if the remand order has not been obtained, the police will be expected to obtain a remand order to justify her detention,” he stated.
Ogunye, however, expressed disappointment at how the police were handling the investigation, adding that granting the media access to interrogate her was unconstitutional.
