Court Remands Hilton Hotel Owner, Rahmon Adedoyin Over OAU Student’s Death

Osun State High Court in Osogbo has remanded the owner of Hilton Hotel and Resort, Ile-Ife, Rahmon Adedoyin, and six others charged with the murder of Timothy Adegoke, a postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).

Rahmon Adedoyin Remanded In Prison

Adedoyin was arraigned on Thursday, March 3, along with six of his hotel workers, including Adedeji Adesola, Magdalene Chiefuna, Adeniyi Aderogba, Oluwale Lawrence, Oyetunde Kazeem and Adebayo Kunle.

The defendant was docked 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, while moving his bail application 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 is seeking the court’s permission to admit the defendant to bail.

Also, counsel to other defendants, Mr 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 added 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 24 hours ago.

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.

How Timothy Adegoke Was Murdered

It was gathered that Adegoke was declared missing after he traveled from Abuja to write an exam at a distance learning centre in Moro, Osun state on November 5, 2021.

Two days later, the OAU student was found dead in controversial circumstances where he lodged at the Hilton Hotels and Resort, Ile-Ife, to sit for the examination.

He was subsequently buried in a shallow grave by the hotel management without the knowledge of his family who had been searching for him or the police.

Adegoke’s body was later discovered after some suspects, including workers at the hotel, were arrested by the police for questioning over the student’s whereabouts.

A few weeks ago, a High Court sitting in Abuja had struck out the case after the police applied to discontinue all proceedings in the murder case for “further investigation”.