Medical Doctor Turned Uber Driver Strangled to Death in Lagos

A medical doctor, Morenikeji Stephen Oluwaniyi, who drove for the taxi sharing app, Uber, as a side job has been strangled to death by a gang of robbers in Lagos city, Nigeria’s commercial hub, on September 8, 2021, police have confirmed.

Oluwaniyi, 27, was said to have honoured a ride request by one Ahmed on the Uber app setup as a decoy by a four-man robbery gang at 10:20pm. Ahmed was later joined by three others who strangled Oluwaniyi to death and eloped with his Toyota car around Abule Egba area of Lagos State.

Oluwaniyi’s fiancée, Adeola Adesanwo, reported the case to the Police on Monday, September 6, leading to the arrest of the suspects. She told reporters that the 27-year-old was a doctor who was set to start a new medical job on Monday, and was driving for Uber to earn extra cash.

A statement released on Wednesday, by Adekunle Ajisebutu, the Lagos state police spokesperson said the suspects “gruesomely murdered” the driver and were arrested by detectives attached to the Meiran Police Division in the state.

The police said the suspects requested the service of the Uber driver online, lured him to the Meiran area and strangled him to death.

“The suspects, after the dastardly act, dumped his body on the Abule Egba bridge, along the Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway and made away with his Toyota Corolla Saloon car with Reg. No. KSF 830 GX.

“Following a report by the victim’s fiancée at the Police Division on 6th September, 2021, detectives immediately put in motion investigation mechanisms which led to the arrest of the suspects in their criminal hideouts, and recovery of the stolen car,” the statement reads.

The suspects are Rilwan Nasiru, 27, Sodiq Taiwo, 23, and Oladimeji, 20.

The police say suspects will be charged accordingly as the the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has directed that the case should be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation and prosecution.

He also cautioned Uber drivers to always be security conscious in their line of work.