27th June, 2021
By Edith Ike-Eboh
Lawyers to the the family of late Michael Usifo Ataga have appealed to the Police to dig beyond the arrest of his suspected murderer.
The appeal was made on Sunday in a statement signed by Olusegun Jolaawo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), on behalf of Rickey Tarfa & Co, solicitors to the family.
Ataga, who was first declared missing on June 13 in Lagos, was killed by his girlfriend, Chidinma Adaorah Ojukwu, a student of the University of Lagos.
His body was found at a AirBnB facility in Lekki, Lagos on 17 June, his 50th birthday.
He was until his gruesome murder, the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV in Lagos.
In the statement Jolaowo urged those behind malicious social media publications to be ready for lawsuits.
He urged the bloggers to stop publishing falsehood that impinges negatively on the integrity of the deceased, his wife and children.
He also urged Nigerians to allow the Police to conduct their investigations without any distraction or interference.
“We know that suspect (name withheld) has been arrested and we know that investigation is continuing.
“Our client is, however, convinced that there is much more to this than is already apparent from the Police investigation.
“It has become apparent that from the variety and inherent malice in most of the media publications, they are planted to embarrass and malign Usifo Ataga, Brenda Ataga and the family,’’
“Our client appreciates the efforts of the law enforcement agencies in their investigations thus far and will not descend into particulars with respect to any of the said false narratives so as not to inadvertently aid the perpetrators of the murder in covering their tracks.’’
The lawyer lamented that the tragic incident of the cold blooded murder of late Ataga had inundated all strata of the media with inconceivable stories being peddled on all sorts of platforms about the incident and, therefore, called for restraints from the publishers of the unfounded stories.
“Our client requests that the well-meaning public allow the family to mourn their departed son, father and husband with some privacy and decency.
“Our client also feels very strongly about the unbridled activities of bloggers on the social media space with respect to this incident and firmly demands that the said bloggers desist from peddling falsehood aimed at maligning the deceased, his wife and children.
“The family will not be intimidated by these bloggers’ activities and insist that the Police be allowed to do their work.
“Our client hereby demand that the false publications and the several ordinarily unrelated stories and pictures of late Ataga and Brenda Ataga be pulled down with immediate effect.
“Failing, our client shall take prompt and appropriate action to seek redress for the apparent instances of libel and slander as appropriate,’’ he added.