Osun State High Court in Osogbo has sentenced the owner of Hilton Hotel, Rahmon Adedoyin, to death by hanging for the murder of Timothy Adegoke, a postgraduate student at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
In 2022, Rahman Adedoyin was arraigned along with six of his hotel workers, including Adedeji Adesola, Magdalene Chiefuna, Adeniyi Aderogba, Oluwale Lawrence, Oyetunde Kazeem, and Adebayo Kunle.
The defendants were docked on 11 counts of charge bordering on conspiracy, murder, altering of evidence, felony, indecent interference with the deceased’s body among others.
During her ruling on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, Chief Judge Justice Adepele-Ojo found Adedoyin guilty of the charges of conspiracy and murder in relation to the death of the student.
The Judge said the owner of the hotel and two of his workers, based on the circumstances of the case established by the prosecuting counsel, Femi Falana (SAN), are found culpable of conspiracy to commit murder and unlawful killing of the deceased.
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.
KanyiDaily recalls that last year, 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”.