An High Court sitting in Oyo town, Oyo State, has reportedly sentenced a truck driver, Adeyemi Morenikeji, 37, to death over the killing of Mrs. Racheal Ayanwale, wife of his former boss.
In his confessional statement when paraded at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters, Eleyele Ibadan, on April 11, 2019, Morenikeji, a former employee to the Ayanwale family, had said that he lured the woman out of her office under the pretext of helping her to seek spiritual solution to her marital problem.
He was quoted to have said that he strangled the woman to death on their way to a spiritual house and dumped her body by the river side.
He went away with her Pontiac Vibe vehicle with registration number KJA 67 CY.
Morenikeji was arrested by men of the Oyo State Police Command on April 18, 2019 at Sango-Ota, Ogun State and was prosecuted after investigation.
Two count charges were preferred against the accused person in case number HOY/1C/2020.
The charges read, “That Aderemi Morenikeji on or about the 11th day of April, 2019, at about 1400hours, between School of Survey and Awe Road, Oyo in the Oyo Judicial Division, murdered one Racheal Ayanwale (female) by strangulation and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 316 and punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, Volume 11, Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria 2000.
“That Aderemi Morenikeji on or about 11th day of April, 2019, at Awe Road, Oyo in the Oyo Judicial Division, having strangulated and murdered Racheal Ayanwale (female), robbed her of her Vibe Pontiac Car with Registration Number, LAGOS KJA 67 CY valued at N1,720,000 and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 401 and punishable under Section 402, of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, Volume II Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria 2000.”
In her 62-page judgement, Adeeyo said, “This honorable court hereby sentences you, Aderemi Morenike, to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour for for robbing late Racheal Oyewunmi Ayanwale of her Pontiac Car and phones.”
On count 1, the judge said, “This court sentences you, Aderemi Morenikeji to death for (the) murder of Racheal Oyewumi Ayanwale.”
