March 03, (THEWILL) – An Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo on Thursday, remanded the owner of Hilton Hotel and Resort, Ile-Ife, Dr Rahman Adedoyin and six others over the alleged murder of Timothy Adegoke.
The presiding judge, who is also the Chief Judge of Osun state, Oyebola Adepele-Ojo, gave the order on Thursday during the arraignment of the suspects.
Adegoke, a postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), had died on November 6, 2021 in a controversial circumstances at Hilton Hotel and Resorts in Ile Ife, where he had lodged to sit for an examination.
He was allegedly buried by the management without the notice of the police and his family.
According to the case summary and proof of evidence earlier filed by the police, Adedoyin is being charged with illegally disposing of Adegoke’s body, altering and cancelling his payment receipt and removal of the hotel’s CCTV cameras with intent to destroy evidence.
The defendants in the case include the hotelier Ramon Adedoyin, Adedeji Adesola, 23; Magdalene Chiefuna, 24; Adeniyi Aderogba, 37; Oluwale Lawrence, 37, Oyetunde Kazeem, 38; Adebayo Kunle, 35, and others at large
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, had on February 8, 2022 discontinued the trial of the defendants following police advice to commence the trial in Osun State, where the crime was allegedly committed.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, had asked the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, to transfer the suspects from the Abuja court to a competent court in Osun State.
Falana, who is the lawyer to the family of the deceased, had made the request in a letter dated February 4, 2022.
The senior lawyer had argued that the alleged criminal offences were said to have been committed at Ile-Ife and that the suspects ought to have been charged before a court of competent jurisdiction in Osun.
At the resume trial of the case on Thursday in the Osun State High Court, Adedoyin was arraigned together with six of his hotel workers, on 11 counts of charge bordering on conspiracy, murder, altering of evidence, felony, indecent interference with the deceased’s body among others.
Counsel to Adedoyin, Mr K. Eleja (SAN), in an application seeking the court’s permission to admit the defendant on bail, said he relied on his written address and the medical report issued by the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, as well as Asokoro District hospital.
Also, counsel to other defendants, Kunle Adegoke (SAN), while moving application for bail of his clients, said the affidavits and exhibits before the court speak for itself and adopted the written address.
He argued that the court has discretionary power to admit the defendants to bail and urged it to exercise it in favour of his client, considering that their sureties have deposed to an affidavit to ensure they do not jump bail.
However, Adegoke urged the court to grant a short adjournment to allow him to file a bail application for the seventh defendant, Adesola Adedeji, who was newly included as a defendant in the matter after the charge was amended.
Prosecution counsel, M. Omosun did not object to the application for adjournment.
Chief Judge Adepele Oyebola-Ojo in granting the application for adjournment ruled that the defendant be remanded in Ilesa correctional custody till Friday, March 4, 2022, to allow the application to be moved.
He, however, adjourned till Monday, 7th March, to commence full trial of the matter.
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