To Adeyemi Morenikeji, it is good to leap before you think, contrary to the popularly saying that is known to many. But giving a thought for harm already done has not only lost any meaning, it has also set his feet on the way to jail at the end of which, if Nigerian law is taken into consideration, doom have already been spelt out for him.
Morenikeji, a 37-year-old former driver to one Mrs Rachael Ayanwale and her husband, did not give it a second thought when he planned and executed the evil he had mind when on April 11, he lured the woman out of her office on the pretext of helping her find spiritual solution to her marital problem.
On the way to the ‘spiritual house’, Morenikeji strangled Mrs Ayanwale as she squatted to defecate, left her body by the river side and went away with her Pontiac Vibe vehicle with registration number KJA 67 CY.
But he had only a week to enjoy the vehicle he got with his blood-stained hands, as he was arrested by the Oyo State Police Command on April 18 in Sango-Ota, Ogun State.
Giving an insight into how the murder was perpetrated, the state Commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu told the Saturday Tribune during a press briefing on Friday that Mrs Ayanwale, who was at her workplace at the Federal School of Surveying, Oyo received a phone call from Morenikeji at about 2:00p.m., on April 11.
The woman was said to have dropped her bag with her colleague and stepped out to meet Morenikeji. That was the last time she was seen alive as the suspect allegedly killed her and her mobile phone lines became unreachable.
The Commissioner of Police told Saturday Tribune after the case was reported at Durbar police station in Oyo town, it was transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad for discreet investigation.
Olukolu stated further that a team of detectives, led by the officer-in-charge, CSP Olawale Tiamiyu, started an investigation into the case, which led to the arrest of the suspect Sango-Ota whwere he relocated to.
“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to killing Mrs Ayanwale, aged 51 years, by strangulating her. He also said he escaped with her Pontiac Vibe vehicle,” Olukolu said.
Our correspondent learnt that he also claimed he was once working with the deceased’s husband, but was sacked, while his salary for few months were not paid.
Morenikeji said that this made him hatch the evil plan of luring Mrs Ayanwale from her Oyo office to Awe-Oyo road in the guise of taking her for prayers to solve spiritual problems on her marital issues.
The police commissioner stated further that the corpse of the woman was later recovered at a nearby bush on Awe-Oyo-Ibadan road, and had been deposited in a mortuary for autopsy.
Also recovered were the two itel phones and the Pontiac Vibe car which had been taken to a place in Mokola area of Ibadan for sale.
During an interview with Saturday Tribune, Moreikeji, who wore a forlorn look, warned parents to take good care of their children as they grow up, as he is currently suffering for lack of parental care by his father after his mother died.
He also said that he gave in to devil’s lure to kill the deceased because of the bitterness he harbored over his sack.
Below is an excerpt of the interview Saturday Tribune had with him:
I am Adeyemi Morenikeji from Ogun State. My first wife has four children for me but we are separated. My second wife is pregnant at the moment. She is at Sango Ota.
Why I was arrested
I killed Mrs Rachael Ayanwale. 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. 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.
When commercial vehicles start developing fault frequently, owners should take it easy, as it is not the fault of the driver. My boss’s vehicle was always giving me problems whenever I travelled, and the owners felt I was just cheating them. On several occasions, I would repair it without informing them, but if the problem was a serious one, I would inform them, and they would threaten to sack me.
So when the vehicle developed fault again, I felt they were just threatening me again, until they said they had sacked me. I kept pleading with them for over four years, sending several people to beg them on my behalf, but they maintained their stand.
Life after job loss
After losing that job, it was difficult getting another one despite trying so hard. I want to say that despite being very fervent in prayers, I am suffering from spiritual problems.
Despite losing the job, I was still communicating with the woman on phone. I was always begging her to forgive me. In fact, the last time we communicated before the incident, I went to her office to beg her to forgive me, and she said she had forgiven me, but that I won’t be paid the money they owed me, and I accepted. However, I pleaded that they should reemploy me, but she said that was not possible.
After about four months, I went to her again in the office, and while discussing, she said her husband had married a new wife, and that the woman was making life difficult for her, while asking if there was anywhere I could take her to for prayer.
I said there are places I could take her, but that I was not ready at that particular time, and that I would inform her whenever I was ready.
How plan of vengeance began
Later, she kept disturbing on phone about where I promised to take her for spiritual prayer; that her husband’s new wife was attacking her spiritually, and I told her again that I would take her somewhere soon. However, during that period, I kept thinking about how much they hurt me by sacking me, and I began planning to take vengeance.
I capitalised on that to punish her, so after a while, she called me again, and I promised to come to her office the following day; that I would take her somewhere.
When I got to her office, I called her on phone that I was outside, and she said she was coming. When she came, I told her that we would need to go in her vehicle as the place was on Awe road that leads to Iwo.
She went back to the office to lock her drawer and then brought her car and we set off. So when we set off, we headed towards the Awe/ old Iwo road. After passing a popular farm on the road, the woman said she wanted to defecate, and we stopped and I showed her where she could use.
All the while, I was thinking about how she and her husband had sacked me, and that the time to harm her had come. At that period, I was engulfed in two thoughts. One was to harm her, while the other was that I should forgive her.
After defecating, she went to a stream nearby to wash her hands, and I moved towards her and strangled her. She struggled and tried to shout for help, but I held her neck until she died. When she died, I left her body there beside the stream and took the car and came to Ibadan. I also took her phones with me.
When I got to Ibadan, I found a buyer for the car. When the person asked how much I wanted to sell it, I told him N1 million, but he said he didn’t have money immediately. Before then, he said he noticed the car’s papers had a woman’s name, and I told him I would bring the woman whenever he wanted to pay.
It was after that that I went to Sango Ota because my brother in-law had called me that he found a truck I could be driving and that I should come the following day. I went to Sango-Ota, and it was there that I was arrested by the police.
There was nothing between the woman and I while I was working for her husband. In fact, there was a time I went to her in her office, after I had been sacked, telling her that one of my children was sick and that she should loan me N5,000, and she did. She then asked where I wanted to take the child and I told her that I would take her to a healing home with some Osun faithful, and that was when she asked if I had somewhere I could take her too as well for her marital problems.
After I killed her, I was disturbed by my conscience that I had killed somebody but there was nothing I could do. I was greatly disturbed. I killed her on April 11, and was arrested on April 18. I spent seven months in that employment.
With what happened, I know the government will kill me, because whoever kills by the sword will also be killed by the sword. My family members have heard about what happened. I plead that her spirit should forgive me, as I know I will also join her (sobbing).
When I wanted to kill her, I didn’t take any drug; it was just my spiritual problems that took over.
In fact, parents should take care of their children well. My father didn’t take care of me. My mother died while struggling, because she was the only one taking care of six of us. Four of us died, leaving two. Life was so difficult, and that was when I went to learn how to drive a truck and found myself with the Ayanwale family.
I have already committed the offence. I hope God will forgive me.
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