Why did the man leave his wife for a sidechic?
Michael Usifo Ataga, the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, and a director in Super Network Limited, a telecoms firm, has been gruesomely murdered and his alleged side chick has been arrested in connection with the incident.
Ataga, who resides in an expensive neighborhood – Banana Island Lagos, Nigeria, was reported missing on Sunday, June 13, by his family and friends after he didn’t return home to Banana Island and also wasn’t seen at his Victoria Island office in Lagos.
All efforts to reach Ataga, who would have turned 50 years old on June 18, failed and this caused distress to his wife and children, who live in Abuja, Nigeria.
Sadly, Ataga’s lifeless body was found on Friday morning, June 18, in a flat in Lekki phase 1 with multiple stab wounds, according to multiple local media, citing The Street Journal.
Several withdrawals had been made from his bank account by then.
Ataga, who is married to a manager in Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, is said to have met his side chick about two weeks ago and they began a relationship.
To avoid noisy neighbors, Ataga allegedly decided to rent an Airbnb in Lekki, Lagos, where they both lodged before the unfortunate incident, according to local media source.
Following his disappearance, concerned friends, family members, the police and DSS operatives came all the way from Abuja to Lagos through the efforts of Ataga’s wife. They reportedly tracked down the owner of the Airbnb, who received payment from the side chick’s bank account into which Ataga had previously made a transfer for the payment to.
They forced the apartment open and unfortunately saw the lifeless body of Ataga with multiple stab wounds in his neck, chest and thigh.
5 million Naira (Over $10,000) had been withdrawn from his account before he was killed.
The mistress who was last seen on Tuesday, June 15, when the murder happened, was equally traced and arrested alongside the owner of the Airbnb.
Ataga was an amateur boxer and reportedly very strong, so his death was shocking to his friends.
Also, after the mistress left the apartment following Ataga’s gruesome death, money began to disappear from Ataga’s GTB account. The withdrawals only stopped when an email asked for a change in his account details.
With this, GTBank blocked the account to prevent any further withdrawal.
The mistress is reportedly a prime suspect in Ataga’s murder as security guards at the rentals confirmed that no third party had visited the lovers apart from a dispatch rider who made a delivery.
Investigations are still on, and the case is still unfolding.