Nigerian Driver Who Strangled Boss' Wife Dead To Steal Car Lured Victim On Pretext of Trip To 'Spiritual House'

A Nigerian driver has been accused of luring his former boss' wife on the pretext of a trip to a "spiritual house" before brutally strangling her to death and taking off with her car, as an alleged act of revenge for firing him from his job, according to local authorities.

Adeyemi Morenikeji, a 37-year-old truck driver, who allegedly killed Racheal Ayanwale, the wife of his former boss on April 11, 2019, has been sentenced to death by the Justice Adenike Adeeyo of the High Court of Justice sitting in Oyo Town, Oyo State, the Street Journal reported.

Morenikeji reportedly said in his confessional statement that he choked the victim on their way to a "spiritual house" and dumped her body by a riverside. He then took off with her Pontiac Vibe vehicle, with registration number KJA 67 CY.

The Oyo State Police Command arrested Morenikeji on April 18, 2019, at Sango-Ota, Ogun State, and he was subsequently prosecuted after investigation, according to The Eagle Online.

“She was the wife of my boss who I worked for before they both sacked me. I drove their truck for them, plying Wharf in Lagos and Obajana in Kogi State. But I was sacked at a period when my wife was pregnant, and I couldn’t afford her going for ante-natal care. And when she eventually delivered, we lost the child," Morenikeji said.

“All this while, I had been begging them to forgive me, but they refused. Even after the death of the child, I still went back to them with someone to beg them again to re-employ me, but they refused," he added.

According to court documents, Ayanwale received a phone call from Morenikeji at around 2 p.m on April 11 while she was at her workplace at the Federal School of Surveying, Oyo. The victim was last seen alive when she dropped off her bag with a colleague before stepping out to meet Morenikeji. She was later killed and her mobile phone lines had become unreachable.

Morenikeji reportedly admitted that his motive behind the murder was the bitterness he harbored over being fired. The victim reportedly told Morenikeji that her husband had married a new wife and that the new relationship was making life difficult for her. When she asked him if she knew any spiritual places where she could pray, he allegedly lured her on the pretext of taking her to a spiritual place, but instead took her to a secluded spot, strangled her dead, and left her body near a stream, the Nigerian Tribune reported.

The police discovered the victim's corpse at a nearby bush on Awe-OyoIbadan road. The body was later moved to a mortuary for autopsy. Later, they also recovered the two Itel phones and the victim's Pontiac Vibe car. The car was found at a place in the Mokola area of Ibadan where the car was kept for sale.

Morenike has been sentenced to death for the murder of Ayanwale and 14 years imprisonment with hard labor for robbing her Pontiac Car and phones.

The judge also ordered the police to hand over the car and the phones belonging to the victim to her husband, the police said.